Together, Complete
by youngmedic
Summary: They have everything they want, but can it last when their enemies start calling? And what would Mulder choose to save his happiness, to hurt her or to let her go? MSR
1. Love Is In The Air!

**Hi everyone! Well this is a story that I found kicking around on my computer, and I wondered if you guys would like to read it or something, so here we go! Hopefully it'll be alright :)**

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**Scully pulled her dressing gown a little tighter around herself against the early morning chill in her apartment. Her mind was anywhere but on the cups in front of her as she made the coffee, her body acting on auto-pilot. Eventually, her thoughts settled on her favourite topic at the moment: Mulder. A slow smile stretched across her face as she wondered at how lucky she was to have found her soul mate, and to have him think exactly the same.

She jumped as two arms snaked around her waist, pulling her back towards him as she giggled in surprise, followed by a low moan as his mouth found her neck again.

"Hmm, this I could get used to," he murmured, kissing her neck and breathing in her scent. "Good morning, Scully."

She span around in his arms, smiling up at him as her eyes roamed over his muscled torso, bare in the morning light. Her arms ran up his chest to rest on his neck, pulling his head down gently so that she could kiss his full lips, a gentle, friendly kiss.

"Morning Mulder," she murmured, a smile forming on her face again as she saw that his eyes were still closed as if he were trying to savour every moment of that kiss. "Coffee?"

They sat together in Scully's kitchen, an easy silence hanging between them as they ate. Scully sighed happily. Things could not have been better between them at the moment. A couple of months ago their resolve had finally snapped, and they had given in to the feelings that they both so obviously held for each other. Since that moment, they had only grown closer, spending almost every waking moment together, and she had never been so happy. Seven years had been a long time to wait, but oh how it had been worth it! Sometimes she wondered if they were going too fast, but when it felt so right there was little argument to slow it down or put a stop to it.

Looking up with a start, Scully saw that Mulder's deep hazel eyes were on her, watching her with interest. She blushed slightly, clearing her throat as she swallowed the last of her coffee.

"Penny for them, Scully?" he asked softly, seeing her blush even deeper and knowing that her thoughts had been on him.

"Nothing of consequence, Mulder. I was just thinking about us."

Mulder shifted in his seat, leaning closer to her over the table. "Good thoughts?"

She smiled easily at him. "Are there any other thoughts when it comes to us?"

A beam split Mulder's face as he stood to put his pots in the sink, Scully following suit. As soon as she was close enough he turned and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her close to him.

"There's something I want to tell you, Scully," he started, seeing her forehead wrinkle in slight concern. He chuckled, amazed that she could still be insecure about his feelings after all this time. "So I booked us a table for dinner tonight."

Scully laughed, the beautiful ringing laugh that he heard more often these days, but that still made his heart stop every time it appeared. He couldn't do anything but smile back at her every time, his hand coming to brush a bit of hair behind her ear gently.

"Mulder, you don't have to buy me an expensive dinner to tell me something! Or wait until tonight, you can tell me anytime."

He thought for a moment, and then decided that it wasn't worth fighting it anymore. Wrapping his arms firmly around her back, he pulled her even closer so that the whole of their bodies were touching except their faces. He needed to see her face when he told her this.

"Well the thing is Scully...Dana..." he started hesitantly, feeling Scully's hand roaming gently around his back, making it difficult to think. She quipped an eyebrow at him, not used to seeing him lost for words. "Well, I love you, Scully. But more than that. I think...I think that I'm in love with you."

Her mouth fell open at this, tears uncharacteristically springing to her eyes as he said the words that she had been dying to hear for so long. Gulping back the emotions, she cleared her throat and looked into his eyes, the eyes that were looking into her very soul, a worried expression on his lovely face as he wondered if he had said the wrong thing.

"Oh, Mulder, I love you too. And I'm in love with you, and have been for so long! I've been waiting to hear those words, and I just...well...I..."

Seeing the tears forming, Mulder brushed them gently away, leaning down to capture her lips in his own again, a sweet, loving kiss showing her just how much love he felt for her. When they broke apart, her breath had been taken away, the world seeming to spin in a wonderful way. Mulder leant his forehead against hers, needing to be close to her.

Suddenly, he scooped her up in his strong arms, spinning her around as he hugged her tightly, enjoying hearing her squeal happily.

"Mulder! Put me down!" she shouted, laughing so hard she thought her stomach would burst.

"Your wish is my command," he replied with a cheeky grin, Scully instantly knowing that he had something planned.

Walking out of the kitchen with Scully still in his arms, Mulder headed back towards the bedroom.

"Mulder, noooo!" she laughed, hitting him gently on the shoulder. "Mulder! We're going to be late for work again!"

"I'm sure the boss won't mind," he replied, laughing along with her as he kicked the door closed behind them.

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She looked down impassively at the photographs in front of her, surprised at what they showed. It had been obvious to her when she first saw them together that Mulder and Scully were hopelessly in love, but now it was obvious to the world. The photographs may have been black and white, but the affection radiating from both of their eyes even when glancing at each other across the room was blinding, let along the couple of photos that had obviously been taken when the pair thought they were in private, as their arms were firmly wrapped around each other.

"So what exactly do you want to do about them?" she asked, looking up at the man sitting across the table from her, smoke hanging thickly like a blanket around him.

"Get rid of the threat, of course," he replied, coughing slightly before taking another slow drag on the cigarette, the tip glowing eerily in the semi-darkness.

"How? They seem to have been pretty good at evading you so far."

He leant forwards at that, his wrinkled face coming into view in the dim light. Studying her face for a moment he leant back with a laugh, instantly making her feel uncomfortable.

"Well that's easily done. We just need to separate them. For people that are stupidly reliant on each other it will crush what remains of their stubborn and pointless spirit. Separate them permanently this time."

She snorted, throwing the photographs across the table at him. "And how exactly do you expect to do that? I can't say you've been successful before. Besides, they're not going to give up on each other without something completely disastrous happens to one of them..."

She stopped, hearing his sinister chuckle that made her skin crawl. Very occasionally she was glad that she was on the same side as this man. He was definitely a better boss than an enemy.

"Well, my dear Diana, that's where you come in..."

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**I know it's another Diana story, but it gets better I promise! **


	2. A Bad Sign

"Mulder!" she exclaimed, her head tipped back as she laughed, his innuendo forcing this reaction every time he started.

Mulder just sat and watched her, a huge grin on his face that he could make her laugh so easily, when she never really laughed much before. He wondered again at how lucky he was to have her, and how a beautiful woman like her could have had any guy that she wanted, but somehow she only had eyes for him.

"Mulder, you're staring again."

He blushed as he blinked back to reality, seeing an amused Scully staring right back at him. Goodness knows he'd caught her staring at him enough times over the past few months. He grinned and opened his mouth to reply as the door to the office opened and his face fell looking up at the person who walked through.

"Whatever it is, the answer is no," he started, rising from his chair with a guarded expression.

Turning around in confusion, Scully eyed Mulder closely to make sure he was alright before she made the turn fully and came face to face with Diana. Her heart thudded in her chest as her spirits dropped instantly, horrified that this woman would appear again when her life had just gotten onto the right track.

"You don't have a choice, Fox, I'm afraid. I have a case that I need your help on."

"Like hell I don't!" he replied, noticing that Scully had stiffened in her chair, her gaze on her hands, expression unreadable.

"Agent Mulder, I'm afraid you have no option," came the voice of Skinner, who appeared in the office after Diana looking incredibly uneasy. "This case has been open for too long and involves a high profile banker who really wants some answers to why his four year old daughter is missing. And this case is more suited to your profiling abilities."

"But sir..." he started, cut off by Skinner raising his hand to quell the protest. He looked anxiously at Scully who was uncharacteristically quiet, but her face was still a mask and she was looking anywhere but at him. He sighed.

"You're a big boy, Mulder, I'm sure you can cope." Skinner turned to leave, but paused by the door long enough to poke his head back around. "Besides, Agent Scully is usually able to keep you from causing too much trouble."

"Sir!" Scully rose from her seat at that, her input finally being forced from her. "I really think that this case is far from MY expertise, and seeing as Mulder will already have a partner..."

"Agent Scully, please don't make my life any more difficult than it already is! I am well aware that you are the rational half of this partnership. Besides, you are Agent Mulder's partner, and together you will be giving a consult for Agent Fowley."

With one back look at the room where the atmosphere was so thick that you could cut it with a knife, Skinner wandered out of the office, debating whether this had been a good idea, high profile case or not. He was surprised when he heard Scully calling his name, her heels sounding clearly in the quiet corridor of the basement as she hurried to catch up with him.

"Sir, is there no way anyone else can help with this case? Many of the agents up there are very good at profiling..."

"Scully, stop," he hissed, leaning down so that he was closer to the small agent, looking up and down the corridor so that they would not be overheard. He frowned slightly, Scully's face mirroring his concern. "This isn't coming from me! Someone higher up wants Mulder on this case, and I have no idea why. But given your past history with Diana, it can't be for good reasons. I put you on the case to watch Mulder's back, I assume that's the way around that you'd want it?"

"Yes, sir, of course, and thank you. But I don't understand."

"Neither do I. But I will keep you posted, I am doing investigations of my own." Nodding to Scully awkwardly, Skinner started towards the lift, before hesitating and turning to find her in exactly the same place, frowning with worry and confusion. "And Scully? Be careful out there. I want you both back in one piece."

She nodded, offering him a small smile. "Sir, does Mulder have any idea about any of this?"

"No. And I think it wise to keep it that way until we know more."

She nodded. "Thank you, sir."

"Best of luck, Agent."

With that he was gone, leaving Scully alone in the corridor. She leant heavily against the cool stone wall, resting her head back with her eyes closed as she desperately tried to get control of all the emotions rushing through her. Just when her life seemed perfect, something had to come along to take it all from her. She had just never thought that thing would be Diana Fowley.

Sighing deeply, she headed back towards their office. Her only hope was that Mulder at least now knew what that woman was capable of, and was likely to be more wary this time around. Or so she hoped.

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"Scully, wait!" he called, sprinting across the parking lot to where his small partner was heading towards her car, stoutly ignoring him. "Scully!" he gasped as he finally caught up with her, his hand on her shoulder turning her gently towards him.

"What is it, Mulder?" she asked, careful to keep all of the emotion out of her voice.

His heart beat painfully against his chest as he caught a glimpse of the hurt and sadness on her face, coloured with worry, although whether it was for him or her he was unsure. Then the mask was back and he was on the outside once again, a place that he had hoped he would never be again.

"Talk to me, Scully. Don't shut me out. Please?" he pleaded, watching her resolve waver as her eyes grew slightly wet, despite her best efforts.

"There's nothing to talk about," she returned, turning away from him and pulling her car door open.

She flinched as his hand came slamming down in front of her, his weight keeping the door to the car firmly closed. It was unusual for Mulder to lose his temper, or show so much emotion, but something in him had snapped as he watched her hurt and stop him from doing anything to help.

"Like hell there isn't! Scully, don't you see that I don't want this either? I sure don't want to be working with that woman in there, and I hate what it's doing to you, what it's doing to us! This has nothing to do with our relationship."

"Doesn't it? I seem to remember you saying something along those lines before," she murmured, almost so quietly that he couldn't hear it, but he caught every word. She shook her head, avoiding his eyes which were always her downfall. "Please, move. I really want to get home, it's been a long day."

"Fine, but I'm coming with you," he demanded, releasing her door and walking quickly to the other side of the car.

"Mulder..."

"No arguments! I refuse to let this hang over us, when if we are just honest about how we're feeling we'll probably be able to solve half of the problems in one go. I care about you too much to watch you hurt and not help."

She nodded mutely, pulling open her door and sighed as she heard his close behind him, not surprised that he kept his word. Allowing herself some time, she let her head hang down, her gaze fixed on some unseen point in the distance. Maybe he was telling the truth, and this had nothing to do with their relationship. Maybe she was overreacting and he wasn't going to hurt her this time. Yet always there was that nagging doubt that they had been here before, and she had been so hurt that time that she was unsure if she could do it again.

"Scully," came his gentle voice, laced with concern and love so that the last of her boundaries were broken. "Oh, Dana, I'm sorry."

The tears fell freely as she finally gave in, her hands pressing tightly against the face as if she could hide it from him, even though he could see the rise and fall of her shoulders. She jumped slightly as she felt herself moving as Mulder somehow manoeuvred her in the small space so that she was sitting in his lap, her head resting gently against his chest. He stroked her hair gently, shushing her softly as he let her get rid of the emotions.

Eventually the tears stopped, and she looked up at him sadly, seeing him smile gently down at her, his thumbs coming up to wipe the last few tears away. She gave him a small smile back.

"I'm sorry, Mulder, I didn't mean to..."

"No, don't apologise, Scully, you have nothing to apologise for. I'm sorry that this has upset you so much, and I know it's because of what happened last time. But that's not going to happen again, I promise you that. You're my life, Scully, nothing can change that."

"Really?" she asked, his heart breaking as she looked so child-like and innocent, needing that reassurance that only he could give.

"Really. I'd never hurt you intentionally, Dana, you mean too much to me for that. We just need to get through the next few days, and everything will be back to normal. We can get through this, we've been through so much worse."

She nodded, wiping her tears. "You're right. I'm sorry, Mulder, I'm not usually so...irrational...but I just..."

"Hey, hey, it's alright! Everyone has to let go of all the emotions sometimes, it's like charging a battery so we can go on again. And I'd far rather you let go with me understanding why and being there for you than have you leave me on the outside, not knowing what's wrong or how to help."

She nodded, going to move when Mulder caught her hand. "I'll drive, Scully, you just relax."

Switching places, Mulder quickly started the engine, looking over at her one more time. "Just promise me you'll always be open with me, Scully, and tell me what's on your mind? I can't help if I don't know."

"I'll try, Mulder. If you will."

He grinned, the world seeming to have righted itself for now. "Of course. And we're the G-team, we can have this case solved in a couple of days. That's not long to wait."

She nodded, looking out of the window as he pulled easily out of the parking spot, hoping that he was right and yet not quite daring to wholly believe it yet.

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**Sorry that was a bit of a boring chapter people, I'll try and do better next time! Thank you to everyone that's read and especially those that reviewed the last chapter, I really appreciate it, and you guys are amazing :) **


	3. Alone

**Hi everyone, I'm really sorry it's taken so long for me to update this! Here's the next part anyway, hope you enjoy it :)**

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**Scully sighed and pulled her coat slightly closer around her. They were in some God-forsaken part of the world, it was grey and raining and cold, and they were no closer to finding this man. To make things even worse, it was a gruesome case with a man kidnapping four year old girls and raping them before finally putting them out of their misery by slitting their throats. And the latest girl belonged to one of the secretaries of state.

Mulder seemed to be getting there with his profile, but Scully just felt so useless. Yes, Mulder had come to her room on both nights they had been there and had asked for her help, bouncing ideas off her, but in reality all of the ideas had been Mulder's, and really Scully had nothing to do and was a spare part. Not helped by the fact that Diana cut her out of every conversation and tried to forget to tell Scully when they were meeting and where. In short, she was thoroughly miserable and was seriously considering getting the next flight back to DC.

"I've been looking all over for you," came the familiar voice that she craved to hear, and she turned to give Mulder a friendly smile, taking the coffee from him with a nod of thanks. "What are you doing out here?"

She snuggled closer to him as he sat down on the wall next to her put his arm around her, his heat radiating out in the cold atmosphere. She shrugged.

"I was just taking in the fresh air," she replied, sipping on the deliciously hot coffee.

He sighed. "Is everything OK?"

She nodded, looking away from him. "Yes, I'm fine Mulder." There was a silence for a moment, and she knew he was watching her, searching for some reason to think she was not alright. "How's the case going?"

"Slowly. My partner abandoned me and I don't have anyone to help me," he replied, his eyes showing that he was teasing when she finally looked up at him, a slow smile stretching across her face.

Reaching out for him, Scully let her hand rest on his cheek gently as she smiled at him, the smile turning sad as her mind started thinking again. When she looked back he was watching her patiently, waiting for her to tell him what was on her mind, even as she dropped her hand from his soft cheek, breaking the contact between them.

"I'm going to go home, Mulder. I don't think I'm really helping here and I just feel that I should be home."

He jumped up from the wall, looking at her in horror. Of all the things that he thought Scully was going to say, this was not one of them. His mouth opened and closed like a fish for a few moments before he cursed loudly, hot coffee dripping down his leg from where he tipped the cup.

"Scully you...you can't be serious? Why would you leave me out here in the middle of our case?"

"It's not my case, Mulder, it's yours. I'm not contributing anything."

He sighed, rubbing his face wearily. "Tell me how to make this right, Scully. I don't know what I can do to help."

She saw the hurt on his face and walked across to him, putting her arms around his waist and holding him tight. His arms dropped naturally to her shoulders, one moving up to brush through her hair gently as she sighed, wishing that it was always like this, and that they didn't have this elephant between them right now in the form of Diana.

"You don't have to do anything, Mulder. You have enough on your mind without having to worry about me. With me back in DC you can have the time and space you need to figure this case out, and get back home sooner."

"But I need you with me. I can't do this on my own," he pleaded, moving away slightly so he could look down into her face, willing her to understand how much he wanted her to stay.

"I just can't, Mulder, I need to get out of here," she replied, bending over slightly with a hiss as she made her way back to sit on the wall.

"Scully?" he asked, by her side in an instant as she kept one hand pressing on her stomach. "What's wrong?"

She let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding, offering him a smile as the pain passed. "Nothing, it was just a cramp. I think I shouldn't have eaten that fruit at breakfast."

He nodded, looking unconvinced as he waited for her to carry on. She sighed, running her hands through her hair as she picked up her coffee again and took a short sip.

"I just feel so useless, Mulder. I can't help with this case, there's nothing I can offer that would help. And Diana has made it perfectly clear that she doesn't want me around, and I think I'm just making a bad situation worse..."

She stopped as Mulder's fingers came to rest gently on her lips, looking up into his soft hazel eyes which were looking at her with such love and affection. He dropped his hand to her lap, tangling his fingers with hers.

"Nothing could be worse with you there, Scully, and it's not like you to give up on a fight! Who cares if Diana wants you here? I want you here! And you help all the time, you help me by knocking aside my stupid ideas and helping me to find sensible ones. And more than that, I don't think I can survive in this rainy, cold, hell hole without you," he finished laughing, enjoying the smile that spread across her face.

"Well, that being said, Mulder, I'm afraid you can't talk me out of this one! I feel like I need to be at home, and besides I already booked a ticket."

"Without talking to me?" he asked, hurt evident in his voice. She sighed and smiled affectionately at him, stroking his shoulder gently.

"I knew you'd talk me out of it and I think it's the right thing to do."

Slowly, Mulder nodded, taking her hand as he pulled her up from the wall. "When's your flight?"

"Half past ten this evening."

"Do you need a lift to the airport?"

She looked up into his hopeful face and smiled. "Sure, that'd be great."

He nodded again. It might not be what he wanted to happen, but he had to respect her wishes. God knows she'd been through enough recently. He just hoped that they could clear this case up as soon as possible, and things could get back to how they had been before.

Mulder sighed as he wandered around his apartment, a bottle of beer in his hands. He had arrived back in Washington that afternoon, and the first thing he had done was to ring Scully, only to be unhappy to find that there was no answer. It was now eight o clock and despite repeated ringing she was still not answering. He had even dropped round and knocked on her door only to get no answer. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he knew that it was a bad sign when he missed his partner so much after only two days apart, but he had long ago given up to the knowledge that he was hopelessly in love with her, and he missed her so much it hurt right now.

This was all not helped by the fact that he had had a miserable time on the case since she left, being ridiculously happy once they finally solved it so that he could come home. Diana had been unbearable, the loss of Scully seeming to be a green light for her to try to spend as much time with Mulder as she could, while he desperately tried to stay away. He remembered the one conversation that had caused them an argument for so long...

"_Come on, Fox, she's not here now! That useless partner of yours is out of the way, so why can't we have some fun while we solve the case without her constant interfering?"_

_He turned, his face a picture of fury, while Diana backed away slightly from his wrath. "Don't you EVER speak of Scully like that! She's the smartest person I know, and I would far rather be here with her than with you any day. Unfortunately I'm stuck with you until we finish this case, but my thoughts are still with Scully. She's ten times the woman you could ever hope to be Diana, so why don't you just go and find something to do apart from annoy me?"_

"_Fox..." she started, walking towards him to put a comforting hand on his arm with a sickly smile._

"_Don't call me that! Just go, Diana, just get out of my sight!"_

_She looked heartbroken for a moment, staring at him in surprise and horror before she shrugged and wandered out of his room into her own, leaving Mulder to pace the room angrily, wishing for the millionth time that his small partner was still with him..._

A knock on his door broke his thoughts, and standing his beer on the table he almost sprinted to the door, a huge smile on his face. She had finally gotten his messages.

When he pulled the door open, his face fell to be replaced by a look somewhere between annoyance and disgust. The taller, dark haired woman holding a bottle of wine and a file was most certainly not the person he wanted to see.

"What do you want, Diana? I'm waiting for someone," he asked coldly, seeing her smile sympathetically at him.

"Has she not called yet, Fox? I told you, she doesn't care about you like I do."

"I'm not in the mood for your mind games."

She smiled languidly, slipping past him somehow to stand in his living room as Mulder closed the door behind him with a heavy sigh. Holding out the file to him, she wandered off to the kitchen to fetch some glasses.

"Take it easy, Fox, I just needed your help with a few things on the case."

Sitting down heavily, Mulder flicked open the file, looking at it irritably. He was still wondering why Scully hadn't called him, wanting to see her so badly. Diana placed a glass in front of him, filling it easily with the red wine.

"And why couldn't this wait until we're at work again?"

She sighed, looking down into her own glass as she took a moment to compose herself. Mulder watched her curiously, wary of where this conversation was going. Eventually, she looked back at him, her eyes so full of pain that he was taken aback.

"I can't lie anymore. I was hoping that this case would give us a chance to talk, to get some of that friendship that we always had back again. But I messed that up, and I'm sorry. I didn't mean to argue with you, but every time I tried to reach out to you, you rebuked me and reminded me how inferior I am to your partner. I guess I just miss you Fox, and I just wanted to talk like we used to."

She shrugged as she finished, dropping her eyes back to her glass. Mulder blushed uncomfortably, knowing that he had been unnecessarily harsh to her in the midst of missing Scully and not wanting to get burned again. And truth be told, he missed their irrational conversations about wild alien theories and conspiracy theories.

"I'm sorry I made it so uncomfortable for you. I just...I just don't want to get hurt again. And I missed Scully."

"I know that you did, and you don't have to worry, I'm not going to hurt you again. All I'm asking for is another chance at a brilliant friendship, nothing more and nothing less. Surely you can give me one evening for that, Fox? One evening for old time's sake?"

He nodded, gulping a bit of his wine as he offered her a small smile, still uncertain whether this was a good idea or not. Standing from the sofa, he smiled at her shocked look, gesturing towards his bathroom.

"Toilet break," he explained, seeing her relax at his explanation.

It wasn't completely Mulder's fault after that moment. He wasn't aware that Diana had put something in his drink while he had been gone, or that she had disconnected his phone so he would miss Scully's call. He didn't realise as he got drunker that she was playing on his insecurities about his relationship with Scully in an attempt to make him forget about her. Nor did he notice that he was becoming so drunk and so suggestible from just one glass of wine. So when Diana leant in to kiss him, it was only natural to kiss her back. Even as his mind was telling him that it was Scully that he was kissing, and that everything was alright...

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**Well I hope that part was OK! Please let me know what you think! Thanks everyone for reading :)**


	4. Mistake Realised

**Hi everyone, sorry for the slow updating - I wrote you a longer chapter to make up for it :) And thanks so much to the people who left me reviews - I promise I'll make it right... at some point :P**

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**Mulder woke with a start as he heard his mobile phone buzzing against his bedside table. He had wondered where that had gone the night before, as some vague thought in his head.

As his senses came to, he realised that there was a slender leg lying over the top of his, and a small arm around his waist. He grinned happily, realising that Scully must have snuck into his apartment while he was asleep and joined him in bed. There was no better feeling than waking up with the woman that he loved each morning.

Reaching out, he wiped a hand tiredly across his face, confused as to why he had such a splitting headache that morning, and grabbed his phone.

"Mulder," he murmured sleepily into it, clearing his throat slightly.

"Mulder, where on Earth are you? I was starting to worry," came the voice that was so familiar. Scully's voice. So if Scully was talking to him on the other end of the phone...

"Oh, erm, shit, uh, I guess I must have...must have overslept. Um, well I'll, uh, I'll be in as soon as I can."

He almost heard her smile down the phone. "Don't worry, Mulder, get here when you can, there's no rush."

"I'm so sorry, Scully," he mumbled, wishing she knew what he was actually apologising for.

"It's no problem now that I know you're safe. There's a coffee waiting here for you when you get here."

"OK," he replied, clicking off the phone before he could lose his cool completely. What on Earth had he done? How had this happened? He had absolutely no memory of the night before.

Pulling the covers back gently, he looked down onto the one face that he truly wished was not lying in his bed. He yelped and hopped out of the other side, falling over his shirt in the process and landing with a loud bang on the floor, waking his bed mate as he groaned in pain.

"Fox? What on Earth is going on?" she asked him sleepily, giving him a contented smile as he hopped up again.

"You need to leave. Now," he said shortly, dashing around and throwing her clothes at her.

"What? Why? Fox, please just calm down! I don't understand why you're acting this way!"

She moved to stand by him, putting a calming hand on his shoulder that he quickly batted away, giving her a warning look even as he ran his hands through his hair, grabbing his trousers and trying to button up his shirt at the same time.

"Look, Diana, I have no idea what happened last night, but this is some kind of huge, cruel mistake. And I really need you to leave now so I can figure out what the hell I'm going to do about it."

He instantly regretted his words when she stepped away from him, a hurt look on her face which she was desperately trying to hide. With a groan he dropped his head to his hands, wishing this whole situation would just go away.

"Well I must say I thought I meant more to you than a cheap fumble in the dark," she mumbled, his heart constricting at her words even as he desperately tried to ignore the pounding in his head to think clearly. "Especially when it was you who came up with the idea while we were having our heart to heart, and I thought you'd changed your mind about us."

He groaned again, wishing for the millionth time that morning that he could remember what had happened that night, but his memory was still coming up blank, making him panic slightly. He swallowed, looking up at her with his sad, confused eyes.

"Look, I'm so sorry Diana, but I don't remember last night. What I do know is that I'm with Scully, and I want to be with Scully, she means everything to me. I just don't have those feelings for you anymore."

She nodded, grabbing the rest of her clothes and dressing quickly while Mulder sat on the edge of his bed, feeling like the worst person on the planet. Yet he couldn't lie to her, he did want to be with Scully. He just hoped that that was still a possibility after today.

With shaking hands, he looked up at her once more as she was just about to leave. "Diana?" She turned, fixing him with a furious and yet sad glare. "You won't tell Scully, will you?"

He looked so sad and pitiful sitting there on the bed, like he'd lost everything in the world that mattered to him, that Diana sighed, not having the heart to wound him further.

"Obviously, I'm a better friend than you ever were," she replied, turning and leaving a despairing Mulder sitting on the bed, desperately trying to work out what she had meant by that phrase.  


* * *

Mulder took a deep breath as he walked through the door to his office, offering Scully a small smile as he sat down. She grinned jovially at him, pushing his coffee across.

"You look like hell, Mulder," she told him, seeing him raise his eyebrows in acknowledgement. "I thought you were never going to make it in at all!"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that, Scully, I really overslept," he told her, as he massaged his temples, doing anything but look at his partner in case she could see the guilt written all over his face.

"So I see," she told him, coming to perch on the corner of his desk and watching him with a worried expression. "Are you alright?"

She ran her hand gently through his hair, stopping as he jumped and looked up at her in surprise. He caught her concern and smiled, hoping that he could reassure her, until another sharp pain passed through his head and he winced.

"Mulder," she said, pulling up a chair so that she was sitting opposite him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just have a bit of a headache," he replied, sitting back in his chair away from her.

"So I see. You have the most haunted expression I have ever seen, are you sure there's nothing else going on?" she asked, leaning over him to check his temperature and finding it raised. "You're burning up."

He shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "I can't remember, Scully," he murmured, seeing her sit back in concern and look fully at him.

"You don't remember what?"

"Last night. I can't remember any of it. And I only had one beer, so it's not because I was drunk. And then I woke up this morning with the worst headache I've ever had and no explanations."

He sighed, leaning over his desk with his head in his hands, Scully watching him thoughtfully as she tried to gauge what he was thinking and what to do next. Reaching out, she touched his shoulder gently, seeing those sad eyes fix on her again, while she smiled reassuringly back at him.

"Can I check that you're OK? Please? It would put my mind at rest. And then I think you should maybe go back home. I'll tell Skinner that you're ill."

"Scully..." he started, cut off as she held up her hand.

"Please don't tell me that you're fine, Mulder, when you obviously aren't! Let me check so that I can put my mind at rest."

He nodded is consent, performing the array of tests for her as she checked over his nervous function and mental function quickly and efficiently. It was not like he could say no to her even if he wanted to. He would do anything she asked him to, whatever that cost him.

She sat back with a sigh moments later, and ran a hand through his hair affectionately as she watched him closely. He tried a smile, and she seemed to melt before him, standing to give him a tight hug as he sat in his chair, his arms passing around her waist on their own despite the guilt that was raging through him, reminding him that he did not deserve this woman.

"You're reflexes are a bit sluggish, Mulder, and you're burning up. Are you sure you didn't take anything last night? I've never heard of a virus coming on this quickly."

"No, I didn't have anything except a beer and a glass of wine. I just...I think maybe I just need to get some sleep." She was still watching him, and he smiled gently at her, taking her hand in his. "I'm alright, Scully, don't worry about me."

"It's my job to," she reminded him, grinning back at him. "OK, well you go back home and I'll tell Skinner you can't make it in today. Actually, I think I'll drive you back, you're not fit to drive at the moment. Give me a few minutes to get this last couple of jobs done before I forget and we'll go."

Mulder sat and watched her as she finished the last couple of bits of paper work, walking around to get her stuff together, all the while eating him alive was his guilt of what he had done. How could he do something like that to Scully? He loved her, with everything that he was, but he sure didn't deserve her. Hell, he didn't deserve her before, and now, well this was absolutely unthinkable. It would crush her if she knew, and he couldn't do that to her. He was just going to have to live with the guilt himself, even if it did eat through his heart.

"Mulder? Have you heard a word I've been saying?" she asked, Mulder jumping slightly as he saw that she was standing right in front of him.

"I'm sorry, I was miles away. What is it?"

She sighed, her arms crossed. "I'm really worried about you, Mulder. I've never seen you so quiet and preoccupied before. I'm not convinced it's safe to leave you on your own, maybe I should ask Skinner if I can stay..."

Her words left her as Mulder suddenly jumped up and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as close as he could without crushing her. Scully wrapped her arms around him, breathing in the comforting scent that was Mulder. He sighed, kissing the top of her head gently as he bent to rest his cheek where he had kissed, needing to be as close to her as he could be.

"You know I love you, don't you Scully? And if I ever do anything wrong, I hope you know how sorry I'd be and how much I want you to be happy, like you deserve to be. You do know that, right?"

She chuckled, pulling away so that she could see his face and run her hand down his cheek.

"Mulder, what on Earth has gotten into you today? You'd think you'd not seen me in weeks, instead of two days!"

_Worst two days of my life_ he thought bitterly as he kissed her forehead, sighing sadly.

"I'm serious though. You do know, don't you?"

She nodded. "Yes, of course I do! You show me in enough ways. And I love you too, with all that I am, you know that. Why the insecurity all of a sudden? You're not going to do anything wrong, I don't want you worrying about silly things like that, especially when you're not feeling great."

Mulder jumped as he heard a cough from the door, turning guiltily to see Diana standing at the door watching them, her face an unreadable mask. She stalked into the room, seeing Mulder gulp and tremble slightly to see her there, as well as Scully's cold expression. Sighing, she held out a file to Scully, her eyes never leaving Mulder's.

"I just need your signature, Agent Scully, then the case is closed and I can go back to my branch."

Taking the file, Scully quickly scribbled her name after checking that a couple of details were correct, before handing the file back. She gave her a cold smile.

"Anything else I can help with?"

Diana paused for a moment, looking up to see that Mulder had his eyes closed and seemed to be chanting some kind of prayer, with only Diana knowing why. Her eyes glinted with anger and sadness for a moment, before her face was a mask again and she sadly nodded to Scully, taking the file from her.

"No, nothing else. Thank you for your help, Agent Scully. It was most...appreciated."

"As was your appearance in this office."

She nodded, laughing humourlessly. "I'm sure I'll see you both around. Agent Scully, Fox," she replied, nodding to them both in turn before spinning on her heel and leaving the office.

Mulder let out a breath that he hadn't known that he was holding, and kissed Scully gently on the lips, smiling at her with a smile that for the first time that day was more like Mulder.

"I'll be fine to drive home, Scully, no need for us both to get Skinner's wrath. But come over later? I could cook?"

She laughed, punching him gently on the shoulder. "You mean you can order a pizza?"

He shrugged. "Same thing. You know me too well Agent Scully!"

"Well that sounds great either way, I think we have some catching up to do!" she replied with a smile, missing Mulder's pained expression on her words. "See you about six?"

"Perfect."

"Oh and Mulder?" she shouted as he just reached the door, seeing him pause and look back expectantly at her. "Make sure you rest this afternoon. And call if you need anything. Actually, call when you get back, I want to make sure you're alright. OK?"

"Yes Mom!" he replied cheerfully, waving over his shoulder as he left the office, leaving a mystified Scully shaking her head in wonder at him and truly hoping that he was going be alright.

* * *

Mulder grinned to himself as he heard the familiar knock at his door, wandering over to open it and finding himself looking into the smiling face of Scully.

"Beer?" she said, offering out a crate as Mulder smiled a welcome, holding the door for her as he gestured for her to make her way in.

"You're just in time, Scully, the pizza man was just here."

She wandered into the living room, patting the sofa for him to join her as she pulled the pizza closer, reaching in to grab a slice with a contented sigh. Mulder laughed, heading into the kitchen to fetch a bottle opener.

"Didn't you know it was rude to start eating before you were both at the table?" he shouted through, hearing that ringing laugh that he loved so much again.

"Mulder, you don't have a table."

He smiled to himself, shaking his head in wonder at the amazing woman sitting on his sofa. Yet it was tinged with regret at how stupid he had been. Could one mistake really wipe out the whole of the happiness that he had built?

"Mulder?"

Spinning around, Mulder felt himself blushing slightly as he saw Scully standing in the doorway, a confused and worried look on her face as she watched him. Smiling reassuringly, he held out a beer to her, slipping the bottle opener into his pocket for later.

"Sorry, the bottle opener was hiding," he offered, reaching out his hand to touch her face gently. He sighed, leaning down to kiss her lips gently, his body reacting instantly to the feeling.

As they pulled away, Scully reached up to pull his forehead down to her level, kissing his forehead gently as she ran her hand affectionately through his hair.

"I'm not sure you should be drinking that," she pointed out, the worried look back again.

"I'm fine, Scully. Just tired."

"You don't look fine."

"Scully..."

She sighed, catching his hand in her own and leading him back towards the sofa. Pulling him down, she sighed and looked down at the bottle in her hand, her other still holding his, not wanting to break the contact between them just yet.

"Mulder. I know that there's something going on, and I just wish that you would tell me what it is. Because I can assure you that it can't be worse than what's going around in my mind."

He sighed, rubbing his face wearily. "I'm alright, Scully, honestly. There's nothing to worry about. I'm just a bit tired, and I think everything's caught up with me. Nothing a good night's sleep won't cure."

As he looked up, he saw her watching him sadly, knowing that he was lying. He hated to hurt her like this, and just wished there was a way to tell her that he wasn't purposely not telling her what was on his mind. If only there could be a way.

"What's caught up with you?" she asked gently, not willing to let the conversation go until she was sure she understood what was wrong, and how she could help.

"It's just...having Diana around, I just had a lot of old wounds reopened, and I wasn't really, well, expecting it I guess."

She nodded, her eyes on the floor as she was lost in thought for a moment. Her heart had constricted painfully at the sound of her name again. Somehow, she knew that this had something to do with Diana. She would always have a place in Mulder's heart, however much that hurt her. She had just never thought that he would let it get to him like this.

"Well, she's gone now, Mulder, you don't have to worry or think about her anymore."

He nodded. "I know. It just takes some time for it to heal again, you know?"

Sighing, she rubbed her own face, the strain finally showing for its full worth. Mulder's throat constricted as he saw the dark bags under her eyes that she had been hiding, not realising how much he had hurt her in the process.

"Do you want to be with her?"

Looking up, knowing that her face was giving away all of the sadness and hurt she was feeling, she saw Mulder's jaw drop, confusion written all over his face.

"Scully!" he finally managed to choke out, moving to pull her into a tight hug as he kissed the top of her head. "How could you even think that? I love you, with everything that I am. What happened between me and Diana...that was a long time ago, and I never felt the same way about her as I do about you. She hurt me badly, and you just need to give me a bit of time. But I want nothing but to be with you, there's nothing between us now. Please believe me."

She searched his face for a moment before nodding, snuggling into his side with a sad sigh.

"I'm sorry, Mulder. I just...I just don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to. Ever. I promise."

She nodded, smiling gently up at him. "Let's get the movie on and forget about everything. I don't want to think any more tonight."

He grinned, hopping off the couch for a moment. "I've got a classic for you, Scully, a really amazing film. Top 10 of all time, I'm sure of it!"

"Just so long as there's no aliens in it, Mulder, I'm too tired for conspiracy theories tonight," she said with a chuckle, a yawn slipping out as Mulder joined her on the sofa, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close.

As the movie finished, Scully stretched and looked up, her face dissolving into a smile as she saw Mulder sitting fast asleep behind her. Flicking the TV off, she stopped to look at him for a moment, sadness taking over her for a moment as she saw that even in sleep a small frown was present on his face. Moving to stand, she carefully laid him down on the sofa, putting a cushion beneath his head and covering him gently with a blanket. She stayed knelt beside him, her hand gently rubbing around his cheek as she felt a tear slip down her face.

"I wish you were alright, Mulder. I wish I knew how to help you." Sniffing quietly, she leant down to kiss him on his forehead, feeling him shift slightly in his sleep and murmur her name. "I love you, I hope you know that."

Taking one last look at the man who stole her heart so many years ago, she wiped her eyes roughly, not wanting him to see her so emotional, and let herself out of his apartment, leaving him with some space to get his thoughts together when he woke.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading and sticking with it. Please let me know what you think! **


	5. Mistake Revealed

**Hi everyone, here's the next part! It's quite angsty but I do love happy endings so I have a feeling it will turn out OK in the end :)**

**

* * *

**Three weeks passed so quickly in the office, both Mulder and Scully being busy with new cases and old paperwork. Scully was so glad to see Mulder slowly become more and more like his old self, the easy laugh, careless smiles and tender touches back just as she remembered them. In fact, he seemed even more spontaneous and loving towards her than he had been before, often pulling her in for a passionate kiss when he was sure nobody was looking.

As for Mulder, he did his best to make it up to Scully, without her knowing what he was making up for. Flowers appeared by the dozen, as well as meals out, meals in, movies and trips to the theatre. He just wanted her to be happy, no matter what that took, and know how much he loved her. That guilty feeling might never leave, but it lessened with time, and he knew she suspected nothing – he was the only one suffering with the secret.

The knock on his door was not completely unexpected, Scully often popping around without warning, even when they had decided to spend an evening apart to catch up on their respective jobs. He grinned, having hoped that she would come. It seemed she missed him just as much as he missed her.

His smile fell however, when he saw an uncomfortable looking Diana standing on his doorstep. He frowned, thinking that she had gone out of his life for good this time.

"What do you want, Diana? I'm busy."

"We need to talk, Fox."

"I don't think there's anything for us to talk about."

She frowned, trying to keep her anger pressed down and rapidly failing. "For goodness sake! How you dare have such an attitude with me after what happened is just...don't you think I regret it too? Don't you think I regret falling for you again to have it end like this? For once think about someone other than yourself!"

Mulder was shocked. It was unlike Diana to lose her cool, especially around him. Nodding, he stood aside to let her in, following her slowly to the couch where he and Scully had sat only a few hours before. How much happier he had been then! Right now, his heart was plummeting as he wondered where this conversation was going. All he knew was that it couldn't be good.

"What's so important?" he asked softly, worry filling him further as he caught the sad and ashamed look on her face. She sighed, running her hands around her face.

"I'm pregnant, Fox."

She watched passively as Mulder jumped up from his seat, pacing in front of her as he desperately tried to let her words sink in, his mouth opening and shutting soundlessly. Eventually he stopped with a groan, his head dropping to his hands as he pulled at his hair, wondering why life could be so cruel.

"What are we going to do? We have to do something, Fox, we can't just leave it alone because it's sure not going to go away."

"I just...I can't believe we could be, um, we could be so stupid. I just...oh my God!"

His mind looked through everything this was going to cost him, all of that happiness that he had had for just a few short months. This was going to kill Scully, and just as bad he wasn't sure he could live without her. He gulped, wishing he could travel back in time and change it all back to how it was. And how he wished it was Scully standing before him telling him this. Oh how different the feeling would have been then!

"Fox?" she asked, moving closer to him as she reached out a hand for his, only to have Mulder jump away for her.

"I'm sorry, I just..." he broke off, swallowing as he hung his head, unable to look at her, feeling like she had somehow trapped him on purpose and yet knowing that was madness at the same time. "I'll support you. Whatever you decide, I'll support you. This is my fault too."

"I want to keep it."

He felt the last of his hope break with those words. Looking up at her, he desperately tried to keep the disgust from his face as he nodded, offering her the smallest of smiles.

"Fine. I'll be there for you. Somehow."

"So what do we do next?" Diana asked, watching him carefully as she tried not to let the fear show.

"I don't know, Diana, you're going to have to just...just give me some time to think. Please?"

"OK," she replied, grabbing her coat and heading towards the door. She paused as she had her hand on the door handle and turned to see him sitting on the sofa, his head in his hands. She sighed sadly, wishing she hadn't hurt him so badly, but her hands were tied. "And just for the record, Fox, I'm sorry. I wish things had turned out differently. I know that I'm...that I'm not the person that you wish had just told you that."

He said nothing, hearing the door open and close, and knowing that he was alone, he finally let the tears he had been keeping back fall. Tears for himself and what he had lost from a moment's stupidity, tears for Scully and that he had to do the thing that he least wanted to do in hurting her, and tears for his unborn child who he could never love as much as they deserved to be loved.

* * *

That had been three days ago. Three long days of desperately trying to find the courage to tell Scully what had happened, even though that meant crushing the whole of his future. Three days of knowing that Scully knew something was wrong, and that she was being understanding and giving him some space. Three days of hell. Three days of trying to squeeze the last bit of happiness from his life before he killed it all for good.

He walked into the office that morning early, like usual. He couldn't sleep anymore, and knew that it was no good staying at home to sit alone in silence. As he walked towards his desk, he was surprised to see a pack of pencils on the desk, and a note in the unmistakable handwriting of the woman he loved. He picked it up with a sad smile, gulping back the emotions that threatened to overwhelm him.

_Mulder,_

_I know you've had a rough time recently, and thought that your favourite pastime might help to cheer you up a bit,_

_All my love_

_Scully_

It had been like this all week. Small little gestures as Scully desperately tried to get him to talk to her. Although if she couldn't manage that, she was determined to find some way to make him smile instead. And all that did was to make him feel so much worse.

A smile spread across his face despite himself as he heard the high heels clicking down the corridor. He looked up to see the one woman he really didn't want to see right now standing angrily in the doorway. She walked slowly in, Mulder moving to stand near the door, needing to find a way to get out if he needed it, as he watched her stand by his desk, sniggering at the note Scully had left for him. His blood began to boil right from the first moment he saw her, but that finished off his resolve.

"Diana..." he started, surprised when she cut him off, holding up her hand.

"No, Fox, now it's my turn to talk. I've given you everything you asked for, I've given you space, I've left you alone to figure this out. But you need to step up, and act like a man. Because I need you right now, and you've left me with nothing. This is your problem too!" she spat, watching as the anger spread across his face, his fists balled at his sides.

"What do you expect me to do? I'm doing my best! Do you think I wanted this?"

"Do you think I did?"

He sighed, not noticing that he was leaning towards her in his anger, his finger pointing with every word he said.

"Well I'm sorry if I'm not meeting your time frame, Diana. I don't seem to be able to just give up on everything in my life with a click of my fingers!"

"You mean everything that makes you happy? Because that's not what it's supposed to be like, Fox. You're supposed to want to be here."

He sneered, laughing humourlessly at her. "Well that's never going to happen. So you take my help like this, or you take nothing."

"You have a nerve! It takes two, Fox, I'm not the only one to blame here."

"I can't even remember that night! If I was involved, it certainly wasn't willingly!"

She strode forwards, a slapping sound ringing clearly in the office as her hand connected with his face, Mulder looking angrily up as he rubbed his face. Her chest heaved as she tried to get breath through her angry state.

"What exactly are you accusing me of?"

"I..."

"No! No more excuses, Fox, stand up for your mistakes and be a man! I'd have hoped that I'd have meant more to you than that, especially when I'm carrying your son or daughter!"

"I don't have excuses! I want what I had before, Diana, which is not you! I can't do this to Scully..."

"You already have," came a quiet voice from the door, Mulder's very heart stopping as he turned to see his ashen faced partner standing in the doorway to the office, her expression showing that she had heard every word.

He watched, rooted to the spot, as she licked her lips as if to say something, before changing her mind and turning on the spot, almost running from the room. If she had stayed a moment longer, if she had said everything that was on her mind, she'd have broken down which was the last thing she wanted in front of the man who obviously never cared for her and the woman she detested who had won everything that she wanted. All she had left now was her dignity, and she was determined to keep it.

"Scully!" he shouted, sprinting from the office past a protesting Diana. "Dana!" he called, catching her arm and turning her towards him just as she reached the lift.

"No! Don't you dare! Don't you dare call me that, Mulder," she shouted at him, her eyes burning with a fire he had never seen before.

"Please, Scully, please. Please stay and hear me out, let me talk to you about this!"

"What, like you've spoken to me over these last few weeks? You can't possibly have anything to say to me, Mulder, because there is nothing to say. Nothing you say can take back this hurt."

Her words came out calmly, like nothing had happened. It only hurt him further as he realised that she no longer trusted him enough to let him see behind her mask. She had shut him out once and for all, and he would never get that back again.

"Scully..." he murmured, the tears starting to roll down his cheeks as he watched her desperately, wishing and hoping with everything he had that she would somehow give him a chance.

"You should go, Mulder," she choked out, willing the tears not to fall yet until she was safely out of the way. "Go and do what you have to."

She moved his hand gently from his arm, stepping swiftly onto the lift that had just arrived. Her back stayed stubbornly towards him as the doors closed, blocking her from his sight. As soon as she heard the doors closed, the sobs started, wracking through her body with no signs of stopping. She wrapped her arms around herself, never having known a pain like the one that was shooting through her chest right now.

Back in the basement, she didn't know that Mulder had slid down the door to the lift, his back against the cold metal as the same sobs ran through him too. He reached out to the door as if that could bring her back, as if he could reach for her in the same gesture. This damage was beyond repair, but all he could do now was hope that his future would somehow turn out the way he had hoped it would. Somehow.

* * *

He knocked softly on the familiar door, hoping and praying that she would give him a chance to talk to her, even if he didn't deserve it. Getting no reply, he knocked again, a little harder this time, determined that he would at least see her face. He needed to see her face, needed to somehow get some contact with her before his heart broke completely.

Relief washed over him a moment later when the door was pulled open and that marvellous woman was standing before him once more. Her face was a picture of stress and pain for which is heart constricted painfully knowing that he was the cause. As soon as she saw Mulder standing in front of her, her arms crossed across her chest, her face a mask as she shut him out completely.

"What do you want, Mulder?" she asked, steeling herself against him, even as the emotions threatened to boil over just by looking at him.

"Please, can I just talk to you, Scully? Please?" he begged, holding out his hands to her even as she stepped further away from him.

"There's nothing for us to talk about."

"Please?" he begged, hoping that she saw how much he needed her to listen, how much he needed to be with her, even if this was the last time.

Taking in his face with a swift glance, she saw how haunted he looked. In short, he looked like hell. He was a man who had lost everything and it showed. Deep down behind all of the hurt, she was worried about him. Sighing, and knowing that this was against her better judgement, she stepped to one side, her arms remaining folded as protection against him as he let out the breath that he hadn't know he was holding, stepping quickly in before she changed her mind.

Sitting gingerly on her sofa, Mulder felt the pain shoot across his chest again as he watched her slowly walk towards him, choosing to sit in the single chair instead of joining him on the sofa, keeping another barrier between them always. How he wished he could take back that night, because he never wanted things to end up like this.

"Scully, I need to explain, to make this right..."

"Stop, Mulder, just stop!" He paused mid-sentence, his mouth hanging open at the anger in her voice as she held up her hand to him. "You can't make this right, so don't even try. As to an explanation, I'm not sure you have one of those either."

He nodded, looking down at his hands sadly. "I can't remember that night, Scully. I have no memory of what happened at all." He sighed, risking a glance at her and finding her watching him, her face unreadable. "I must have been ridiculously drunk for something like this to ever happen."

"That's not an excuse, Mulder. What's done is done." She sighed sadly, running her hands wearily over her face. "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"I was scared I would lose you. And I just...I didn't want to hurt you, Scully, I'd never want to do that."

He watched as she nodded, her lips pursed as she lost herself in thought. He wished he could read her face as he used to be able to, but she was guarded against him now, shutting herself off completely as if she were afraid of him. His throat constricted painfully at that thought, as he sat waiting for her to say something, and Scully only kept quiet.

"Scully..." he gasped, feeling his eyes grow wet, as she finally looked up at him, her eyes so full of hurt. "I still love..."

"No! Don't say that, Mulder! Don't say what you can't possibly mean!"

"But I..."

"Please, Mulder, please," she begged, a tear finally escaping her tight control. "Please, don't do this to me, because I can't take any more, I can't take it."

She wiped irritably at the tears running down her cheeks, Mulder reaching out on instinct to help and just stopping his hand in time. He sat quietly, waiting for her to decide where this conversation was going. Once she was sure that she had control of her feeling, she looked up at him once more, not surprised to see the same hurt on his face as she was feeling.

"I think you should leave now, Mulder. There's no point dragging this on any further when there can be no future for us anymore."

He looked up in shock and surprise. "What...what do you mean?" he managed to choke out.

She laughed humourlessly. "After all this hurt, and pain, there is just no way for us to move on, Mulder. There's nowhere to go from here."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure how to put into words what he was feeling. As he watched, she looked down at her hands, not looking into his eyes which were always her undoing.

"But we can still be partners, right? I mean, we are still partners, aren't we Scully? I can't be without you! I just can't!"

His eyes were so full of hope that her heart broke for him. But there was nothing she could do, what was done was done, and there was no going back now. This hurt she just couldn't heal.

"Mulder..." she replied, as she shook her head.

He jumped from the sofa as he shook his head, refusing to believe what he was hearing. She couldn't do this to him! Surely she couldn't cut him off completely? She was the only reason he was still breathing.

"Scully, you can't do this! Please, don't do this! I can't go on without you, please..."

"Stop it!" she shouted, jumping to her feet as well and shocking him into silence as anger radiated towards him. "Stop being so selfish, Mulder, and think about what this means for me! You're getting the one thing I could never give you, with the one woman I despise completely. Can you even understand how that feels, how that would feel to come into work every day and know that you were lying with her, and living with her, and looking after your child with her? Have at least a shred of compassion for me!"

He watched her in shocked silence as she breathed heavily, the raw pain showing through. His face paled as he finally understood that this was the end, this was goodbye. As she quietened, a look of sorrow and compassion returned and she rubbed her face wearily.

"What are you going to do?"

He shrugged. "I can't abandon her, Scully, when this is partly my fault. No matter how much that thought fills me with revulsion."

She nodded thoughtfully, walking towards her door. "In that case, there really is nothing further for us to discuss."

Desperate, Mulder followed her and gently grabbed her shoulders, feeling her flinch as she kept her back to him. He turned her towards him before breaking the contact, Scully keeping her head down.

"What do you expect me to do? I can't be like my father and abandon my child to someone else to raise!"

When she looked up at him, her eyes flashed with anger. "I expected you to stay faithful, Mulder!" she replied, before shaking her head. He watched as all the anger left her, replaced by a weary look. "I give up, Mulder. I haven't got any fight left anymore. Go and do what you have to do."

Opening the door, she waited for him to walk through, surprised when he stayed staunchly in her apartment. As she looked up, he was reaching for her, before the look in her eyes held him back.

"If you ever had any feelings for me at all, Mulder, you'll leave now. Before you cause me any more pain."

It was so calmly said, and although he opened his mouth to argue, he quickly closed it again, and nodded gently. Walking out, he couldn't bring himself to look back. He wished he had just a little more time with her, but then again he realised he had never deserved the time he did have. Sighing, and fighting against the tears that were still threatening to fall, he walked away from the life he wished he had, towards the life that he never wanted.

* * *

Scully had walked through the familiar corridors and sighed. They were no longer the same after everything that had happened. She had called the office and taken a weeks leave the following morning. It felt cruel to do that, knowing that Mulder would have been hoping to have at least a last few days to try and repair a little of the hurt he had cause with her, but she just couldn't bear to be near him right now, knowing that she would never be with him in the way that she wanted to be.

So now, she was sitting in Skinner's office, lost in thought for just a moment, waiting to sort out more permanent plans for her future. A future that looked nothing if not bleak under these circumstances. Shaking her head out of her reverie, she saw that Skinner was watching her with concern, and offered him a small smile which he returned, as she cleared her throat.

"Sir, I need a transfer. And I thought that if it were possible, you could transfer me to Quantico. I know they need good teachers over there and I used to do some teaching a while back..."

"Scully, Scully!" he said, raising his voice to stop his rambling agent. She took in a shuddering breath, the talking having helped her to control her emotions. "What's going on? Why on Earth do you want a transfer?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair, looking down at her hands. "I'd rather not discuss it, sir, if that's alright with you."

Nodding thoughtfully, Skinner waited until Scully finally looked up at him again, is calming eyes and gentle smile helping to calm her down again.

"Does this have something to do with Agent Mulder?"

He was shocked by the pain that he suddenly saw in her face, as she nodded, dropping her eyes again. "Yes, sir."

Skinner sighed, nodding sadly. He had never seen Scully looking so broken and sad before, and had no idea how to help her. Always, he had been fond of the small, fiery agent. And he knew that nothing but Mulder could ever cause her to leave the X-files. He just had no idea, after everything that they had been through together, what would be so bad that it would cause Scully to suddenly decide to leave.

"Working with Agent Mulder would be impossible for the both of us right now, sir."

He nodded, seeing her eyes light up with hope that he was going to help her. "OK, Scully, I trust your judgement. But I don't want to lose you from Washington, you're one of my best agents. I can make a space for you in the violent crimes section, if you would prefer? I think it would be suited to your talents."

Grateful for his faith in her, Scully nodded. "Thank you, sir."

Skinner smiled gently at her. "Any time, Scully, you know that. And don't worry, if I catch Mulder up there I'll fire his ass."

Smiling sadly, Scully nodded to her boss and started towards the door. She was surprised when she heard Skinner call her name softly and turned to face him.

"Come back and talk to me, Scully, if you need to."

She nodded, swallowing the emotions that were threatening to spill over again. "I will. Thank you."

* * *

**That's all folks! I hope that part was alright - please let me know what you think so I can make it better for you all! Thanks so much for reading :)**


	6. An Unexpected Meeting

**Hi everyone, here's the next bit! Thank you so much for the reviews, that really made my day :) Hope this bit is OK and that you're all having a great Christmas!**

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Three long weeks had passed slowly for Mulder. He had missed Scully terribly, both at work and at home. It wasn't that his new partner, a young man named Rob Smith, wasn't a good man because he was. He was funny, worked hard and seemed eager to please. But he wasn't Scully, and Mulder still hadn't quite come to terms with the fact that he was never going to get her back again. He couldn't even work out where she had gone, although from going to her apartment and sitting outside a couple of times he knew that she was still in Washington.

So it was with a welcome smile that he chatted with Rob as they got kitted up for a raid with the violent crimes section. Skinner had seemed uneasy to be putting Mulder on the case, but he needed all of the agents that he could get. And Mulder needed a distraction.

He was surprised when he looked over to see a small, red-headed woman talking to four men, slipping into a suit identical to his own. His jaw dropped as he heard the unmistakable laugh. Rushing over, he put his hand on her shoulder, spinning her towards him, and his heart stopped as he looked into Scully's face, a smile lighting up his face to see her again.

"Scully! Oh my God, what are you doing here?"

"Working, Mulder, just like you," she replied coldly, returning a small smile as she moved to turn away and continue her conversation.

"It's so good to see you," he murmured, and Scully sighed sadly. The other agents she was with smiled sympathetically at her, nodding with understanding.

"We'll catch you in a minute, Dana, we're going to go fetch the rest of the stuff. We'll get yours and meet you by the van."

"Thanks, Steve," she replied, nodding to the smiling man.

"Take it easy, Dana!" one of the others with blonde hair called over his shoulder, and she nodded and smiled easily back at him in reply.

Mulder felt the jealousy creep up on him at once. Scully was completely at home on her new unit, and it seemed that the other agents had taken to her and liked her a lot, valuing her as part of the team. Not that it really surprised him – it was Scully after all! But he had secretly hoped that she would only feel at home with him, and would only enjoy working on a team with him, however selfish that was.

"So, how have you been, Scully? I've...well...I've missed you."

"I've been fine, Mulder." She paused for a moment, feeling too bad not to speak further and needing to know that he was alright, cursing herself that she still loved him just as much as before. "And you?"

He nodded. "I've been keeping afloat, you know," he replied, shrugging and picking nervously with a stitch on his jacket. "Maybe we could grab a drink after this? Catch up a bit?"

Her face turned cold before she looked away from him. "We're here to work, Mulder, nothing more. I have to get back, I'll be seeing you."

His heart broke all over again as he watched her turn and walk away. Sighing and rubbing his face wearily he turned back to his partner, who clapped him on the back supportively, handing him is helmet as they moved to take their own places, his eyes constantly darting back to his small ex-partner, who was laughing with her own team.

Neither of them noticed that Skinner had seen the entire event. Nor that he had noticed the hurt and longing on both of their faces as they turned away from each other. He shook his head, wishing that he could understand what had separated the two agents who so obviously were deeply in love with each other still.

* * *

The aim of the operation was to trap the men inside the warehouse and to take them all into custody. They were all drug dealers, each involved in various other awful crimes including rape and even murder. The teams were all positioned by different entrances, the idea to move as a pincer. Mulder looked up and was pleased to see that his team were directly to the side of Scully's team. Somehow, even though he knew that the other agents liked her and would watch her back, but he liked to be near her when there was danger, just in case.

His heart rose into his throat as he watched. The signal was giving, and Scully's team started forwards. He watched almost as if it were in slow motion, as Scully faltered, staggering forwards as her legs seemed to crumple beneath her. The rest of her team carried on, not noticing that she had a problem.

He moved as if on auto-pilot, his heart beating wildly in his chest as he shouted her name, breaking his cover and sprinting towards her, the only thing in his mind making sure that she was alright. He half looked up as he heard Rob shout his name, seeing someone aiming at him and thankful when he heard the firing of another gun as Rob covered his back, shaking his head at his errant partner.

Dropping to his knees instantly, Mulder gently pulled Scully over so that she was lying on her back, sweat pouring off him, as he desperately tried to see if she had been hit, thankful that he found no bullet holes in her suit.

"Scully," he murmured desperately, gently sliding her helmet off so that he could see her face. He gasped as he took in her grey complexion, sweat running off her face. Hugging her to him for a second, he groaned. "Oh, Scully, why didn't you tell me you felt ill? Why didn't you tell someone!"

Laying her down, completely unaware that he was still in the firing zone, he tapped her face briskly, holding her cheek gently in his other hand.

"Scully! Come on, wake up for me! Scully!"

He watched as she frowned slightly, breaking open her lips with what seemed to be a large amount of effort.

"Mmmmmdddrrrr," she murmured, his heart stopping when he wondered if she was trying to say his name, or was just moaning. He felt his heart break all over again, his mind running over all of the possible causes for her collapse. All he knew was that Scully was ill, and she hadn't told him. Not that she had a reason to, but he was actually afraid.

"It's going to be alright, Scully, I promise. Hang on, I'm gonna get you out of here," he told her desperately, scooping her easily into his arms and turning to run for the door. Looking back, he was grateful when he saw that Rob was following him out, covering his back while he was distracted, thinking only of getting Scully some help.

* * *

Skinner glanced casually around when he saw and agent running in his direction. His smile fading, he looked closer, shocked when he recognised Mulder running as fast as he could towards him, a small form held so carefully as if it were the most precious thing in the world to him, in his arms. And as he looked closer, he realised why when he saw the unmistakable flash of red hair that told him instantly who he was carrying. Running off in their direction, Skinner didn't even wonder how it was that even on separate teams Mulder had managed to watch the back of what would always be his partner.

"I need medics, now!" he shouted, pleased that the ambulance team sprang into action even as he reached the pair of errant agents.

"Mulder? What the hell happened?" he asked, watching as Mulder laid Scully delicately down on the gurney that had appeared, bending over as he desperately tried to catch his breath.

"I don't know, sir," he choked out, watching as the team started to remove Scully's swat suit.

Looking across, Skinner took in the ashen faced Scully, sweat still pouring down her face as she groaned, moving uncomfortably on the gurney, still far away from consciousness.

"Was she shot?" he asked, looking back when he got no answer to see a terrified Mulder still watching every move of the paramedics. "Mulder!" he shouted, finally getting his attention.

"Um, I...I don't know, I don't think so. I didn't hear a shot, she just went down, sir, and I couldn't...I..."

"Take it easy, Mulder," Skinner told him, catching an arm around his back and leading him to the second ambulance to sit on the edge while he caught his breath.

His eyes were haunted when he finally looked at his boss again. "What if it's something bad, sir, and I don't know about it? What if her cancer is back? I just...I can't help anymore and I just wish...I...she's got to be alright, she has to be!"

Skinner clapped his shoulder, watching uneasily as the paramedics still worked on Scully. He was worried himself. Looking down, he saw that Mulder was still watching them with the same haunted look on his face.

"She's going to be alright, Mulder. She's a fighter. Scully's just been under a lot of stress recently, don't jump to conclusions."

He nodded, not really hearing the words. Skinner, sighed, wondering again what on Earth could have happened to separate the two agents whose lives still so obviously revolved around each other.

They finally loaded Scully into the ambulance, giving Skinner and Mulder a reassuring smile as they gently lifted her in. Looking around, Skinner realised that Mulder was making his way towards her, determined not to let her out of his sight. He started forwards, knowing that Scully was not going to want to see him there.

"No, Mulder, not this time," he told him, surprised when he grabbed the top if his arm to hold him back that Mulder winced and pulled away from him. "Mulder?"

Looking down, Mulder finally saw the small, telltale hold in the top of his jacket. He seemed surprised to see it there, and Skinner sighed, still surprised even after this amount of time how completely they were devoted to each other, that Mulder would not even notice that he had been shot in his effort to get Scully to safety.

Grabbing his arm, Skinner pulled his agent towards the other paramedics. Mulder looked up in annoyance, seeing the other ambulance about to leave.

"Sir, I've got to go and see if she..."

"No! You're going to stay here and let these guys look at your shoulder, Mulder, and that's an order."

"But..."

"Don't even start with me! She won't want to see you there, and I have to go by her wishes. And I am not letting you move until you have been treated."

Sighing irritably, Mulder helped the paramedics to shed his jacket, wriggling out of it with a wince and revealing a wound on his outer shoulder. He was pleased to see that the bullet appeared to have passed straight through, and after some checking the paramedics decided that he only really needed a bandage on it, and to have a check up in a couple of days.

"What happened, Mulder?" Skinner asked gently as they worked.

He looked up in surprise. "I don't know. I don't remember getting shot. I just needed to get Scully out. Please let me go and see how she's doing, sir. I need to know."

Skinner nodded. "I'll take you there myself once the operation is finished."

"But sir..."

"No buts, Mulder, and think yourself lucky I'm letting you go at all!"

Mulder fell silent, grumpy that he couldn't go and had to wait in agony, not knowing what was happening to his partner. Skinner half watched him and half watched the warehouse, wondering how he could solve this latest problem with his two mischievous agents. He had to get to the bottom of this problem before it ended up killing the both of them. Somehow.

* * *

**Sorry for the Christmas cliff-hanger, and I hope this part is alright. Please let me know what you think! Thank you :)**


	7. A New Start?

**Hi everyone, Happy New Year! Hope you all had a brilliant holiday :) Thank you so much for the reviews for the last chapter, that really meant a lot! :D Hope this bit is OK.**

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It seemed like an age that Mulder was sat waiting to go to the hospital. But as promised, Skinner dropped him at his apartment so that he could collect his car and get to the hospital. He walked the corridors, a strange feeling of longing and uncertainty on him. He had to find out, for his own peace of mind, that Scully was alright. Yet at the same time, he knew that Scully would be less than impressed to see him, and he knew that he couldn't blame her.

Finally reaching her room, Mulder felt that he could at least breathe again when he saw that his partner was actually standing up, getting dressed in her own clothes again. She looked much better than the last time that he had seen her, although she still looked incredibly pale and worn. He watched as she carefully closed the last button on her shirt, turning to pick up her coat. She was distracted by something, he could tell that instantly. He just hoped that it wasn't something bad.

Biting the bullet, he gently knocked on the open door, seeing her look up in surprise. He offered her a gentle smile, seeing her give him the smallest smile back again. Clearing his throat nervously, he stepped into her room.

"How're you feeling, Scully?" he asked gently, careful to keep his distance as she watched him guardedly.

"I'm fine, Mulder," she replied, the pain in her eyes telling him that she was lying. He winced at the reply, a stark reminder that she had shut him out completely.

"Scully..." he started, sighing and rubbing his head irritably. "You don't look fine."

She sighed sadly, looking down. "I don't think my medical condition has anything to do with you anymore, Mulder."

He nodded. "I know. And I know that I haven't done anything to deserve to know, or to be there for you. But that doesn't mean that I don't care, because I do, Scully, more than you know."

She nodded. "I know." Looking up at him sadly, she noticed the white of a bandage poking out from beneath his shirt sleeve. Pointing at it, her eyes shot to his instantly, concern shining out of them. "What happened? Are you alright?"

Looking down, Mulder saw where she was pointing and pulled his sleeve further down self-consciously. "Uh, yes I'm fine. Just got a bit clipped, that's all."

He watched her, secretly glad that she at least still cared what happened to him, knowing that that meant that she still had some kind of feeling for him. He sighed, wishing so much that things were different.

Moving towards him, he was surprised when she ran her fingers gently over the bandage, moving his arm a few times to assure herself that he was truly alright. He let her do what she wanted to, watching her carefully as she kept her eyes on his arm, never moving them to his face. Once she was finished, she cleared her throat gently and turned away from him, bending over to lean on the bed.

"Uh, Mulder, I just...I wanted to thank you. For your help, and for getting me out."

He could tell how uncomfortable she was, not fully understanding that the reason was that she was still so much in love with him, and she was desperately trying to keep her distance, knowing that she couldn't have that life anymore. Stepping forwards, he placed his hand gently on her shoulder, turning her so that she was looking at him. She almost shied away from how much love she still saw radiating from his eyes, her barriers almost melting all over again.

"I would gladly do it, Scully, any time. I just wish I knew that you were alright."

She was just about to reply when her doctor reappeared in her room, the young woman picking up her chart and looking at it uneasily. Mulder turned to watch, seeing the discomfort and spinning around to fix Scully with a piercing gaze again, trying to look for any signs that she was very unwell.

"Agent Scully, I really do think that you should stay in hospital tonight. I'm really not comfortable letting you go just yet, you need monitoring so that I'm sure you're safe to leave."

She shook her head, leaning down slowly to pick up her bag from beneath her bed. "I'll be fine, Dr Turner."

"It's not safe for you not to be in the hospital right now. You were really quite unwell when you came in."

Scully sighed, her arms folding as she refused to budge. "I'm a qualified doctor, I'm more than able to look after myself from here. Thank you for your concern, but it is unnecessary."

Mulder watched the exchange, rubbing the back of his neck uneasily. Dr Turner sighed, handing over a discharge form for Scully to sign, which she did readily.

"You do understand that you are signing out against medical advice?" she asked, watching Scully nod mutely. Sighing, Dr Turner took the form back, watching the stubborn agent with a small smile, seeing a lot of herself in Scully. "At least promise me that you won't be alone tonight? You need someone to make sure that you're alright."

"I'll come back if I feel that I need help."

"You might not be in any fit state to get back should you need help," the young doctor pointed out, gently pushing Scully back so that she was perched on the edge of the bed, afraid that the ashen faced woman was going to collapse again.

Scully shook her head, rubbing her forehead wearily. "I'll be fine."

Nodding, Dr Turner let her go, picking up her clipboard again. "As you wish. Please do come back if you need to though, Agent Scully." Pausing after a moment, she ripped a piece of paper from the chart, scribbling something down before handing it to Scully. "Here. My mobile number. Call me if you need to, and I can come to you if you can't get to us."

Smiling a genuinely thankful smile, she took the paper. "Thank you."

"No problem. Just take care of yourself! And use the number if you need to," she replied, turning swiftly and leaving the two alone.

Mulder watched uncertainly as Scully tucked the number into her pocket. He knew now that something was seriously wrong with his partner, and that he had to do something to help her. She was struggling, and it was his fault that she was alone.

It was with this mindset that he started forwards, Scully surprised when she went to pick up her bag that it was gone, Mulder already carrying it for her as he waited patiently by the door. She watched him wearily, sighing again. Why must he always make this so difficult? If only he hadn't seen her collapse she would have been alright.

"Mulder..." she said warily, seeing him hold up a hand to stop her.

"Scully, you don't have a car. So unless you want to pay a fortune for a taxi home, you're going to come with me and I'm going to take you home. Well, you're going to come with me and I'm going to take you home anyway, because I don't want anything to happen to you on the way. I don't think I can take any more of this worry," he finished with a cheeky smile, pleased that Scully still couldn't resist a small smile back.

Shrugging, Scully started off down the corridor after him. She knew she had no choice when Mulder actually put his foot down about something. And she was too exhausted to complain or to get a taxi anyway.

They soon reached the car, and Scully was surprised that once he had seen that she was safely strapped in, Mulder didn't start the car. Instead, he looked across uneasily, watching her pale face anxiously.

"You have to have someone with you tonight, Scully, I won't leave you unsafe," he started, a little uncertainly. "Are you sure you're doing the right thing leaving the hospital?"

"You're opinion doesn't really mean anything anymore, Mulder," she replied irritably, before stopping and licking her lips. "Sorry. I didn't mean that, I know you're only concerned."

Starting the car with a gentle smile, Mulder pulled out onto the road, giving Scully some time with her own thoughts. As they neared the place where he would need a decision, he looked across at her and saw that she was watching him carefully.

"So, where am I taking you?" he asked gently.

"My apartment, please."

He shifted uneasily in his seat, keeping his eyes firmly glued to the road. "I'm not leaving you there alone, Scully."

"Mulder..."

"No, Scully, I know I'm not part of your life anymore, but I won't leave you unless I know you're safe. And the doctor said you're not safe to be alone."

"I'll go to my mothers."

"How are you going to get there? You're not in a fit state to drive."

Glancing across, he could see the first signs of frustration starting. He almost smiled, she was so cute when she was frustrated. Holding himself back, he coughed slightly before pulling in on one side of the road.

"Look, I'll either drive you to your mothers myself, or I'll stay at your apartment with you for the night. Your choice. Unless you have somewhere else you'd rather go, and then I'll take you there."

She looked across at him, seeing him looking at her with such sweet concern that she melted slightly, knowing how much he cared for her and cursing him for being so stupid on that night and for choosing Diana over her again, even though she knew that if he had a choice he wouldn't have gone that way. Her mothers was three hours drive away, and yet he was still willing to drive for six hours if it would keep her safe. Smiling gently at him and giving his hand a little squeeze, she cleared the lump from her throat before answering.

"If you don't mind staying at my apartment, that would be great. Thank you."

He grinned back at her, genuinely happy for the first time in months. That little bit of contact that she had given him had been like air to a drowning man. Putting the car into drive, he set off again.

"Of course I don't mind. Anything for you."

And despite the circumstances, Scully knew that he meant it.

* * *

Walking into her apartment seemed so strange for Mulder. Nothing had changed, apart from an odd item she had moved, or a new one she had acquired. It was still completely Scully, and it still made him feel safe and at home. Only now it was tinged with a little bit of sadness, knowing what he had lost. It also broke his heart to notice that all of the pictures of him and Scully together had been removed.

"Sit down, Scully, I'll grab you a drink."

"Mulder, you don't have to do that..." she assured him, protesting until he turned her around and guided her to the sofa himself.

"I know I don't, but I want to."

"I'm not an invalid," she complained as she sat down, folding her arms firmly across her chest and making him chuckle.

"I never suggested that you were, but there's no harm in resting so that you get better quicker, so that you get me out of your hair quicker," he quipped, pleased to see a slow smile spread across her face.

As he bustled off to make a drink, Scully tried not to think about the fact that deep down she didn't really want him to leave, even as she told herself that she was being stupid and was only making it more painful for herself in the long run. She knew very well that he hadn't offered for her to stay at his apartment, where she always had felt so safe and comfortable, because there was an intruder living there too. Besides, it was making her feel worse, knowing why she was feeling so ill and knowing that she could never tell him why, or let him offer her support as he had in the past. But she really did miss him. He always seemed to make her feel better so effortlessly, and yet she couldn't have that anymore.

She jumped as she heard his raised voice coming from the kitchen. Choking back her tears, she stood carefully with a slight wince and made her way towards the partially opened door. Peering in, she could see him wandering irritably up and down the floor, his back towards her, his mobile to his ear.

"No I'm not coming back tonight...because I'm not Diana, you can manage for one night without me to yell at and order around...because I'm staying with Scully...because she needs me and I'm not leaving her!"

It was quiet for a moment, and Scully was sure that Mulder was getting his ear bent. Secretly, she was pleased that he had told Diana where he was staying instead of hiding it. She heard him snort, and turned her attention back to the conversation.

"You know what Diana, she was always more important to me than you, I think you should know that by now..." He ran a hand wearily over his face with a sigh, looking down as he rested slightly on her table. "I just don't have the energy to fight with you anymore. I really can't take this anymore, I'm exhausted. I think it's a good thing I'm not there right now, we could both use a break. I'll see you tomorrow...no I'm turning my phone off, I need to give Scully my full attention, and I don't think I can speak to you right now without shouting. Goodbye, Diana."

Clicking off his phone, he turned it off true to his word and threw it on her table. He sighed, looking down at his hands. Looking at his face now that he was completely unguarded with her, Scully gasped as she saw how haggard and miserable he looked. Her heart swelled once again with love and compassion for him. No matter what he had done in the past, he didn't deserve to suffer this much for one mistake.

* * *

Scully had to admit that she really did enjoy the evening. It reminded her of old times, and she felt so much better after just a few hours with Mulder, just like always. They had watched one of their classic films together, Mulder joking all the way through and Scully laughing along with him like always. As they watched each other secretly, both saw a change for the better, with Mulder looking much happier and Scully looking healthier.

As the credits started to roll, Mulder sighed, knowing that the bubble that he kept reality away just for a while was finally about to burst again. He looked up after flicking the TV off, surprised to see that Scully was sitting with her legs crossed across the sofa from him, watching him with a mixture of sympathy and concern.

Reaching out, he took his hand gently in his own, holding the connection with her eyes. "I really miss you, Scully," he muttered, sadly seeing the pain come back into her eyes again, yet all of the anger had gone.

"I miss you too. More than you could know."

He hesitated, watching her closely. "Do you think...would it ever be possible that we could get some of that friendship back? Even a little part of it?"

He looked so much like a hopeful little boy at that moment, that she felt so sorry for him. She paused, thinking about her answer, not wanting to be anything but honest with him.

"I used to hope that we could. One day. But now, I just don't see a way that that could happen."

Looking down, he nodded sadly, not letting go of her hand as his thumb moved gently over the soft skin of her knuckles, soothingly. She sighed, despite the conversation feeling peaceful and cared for.

"You could never know how sorry I am, for that one moment of stupidity. Especially when I know that you're hurting, and that I caused that. I never wanted to hurt you, Scully, ever. And now I know that there's something very wrong with you, and you can't tell me what it is. And I don't want you to have to suffer alone, Scully, but I just don't know what I can do to help, and I just...well I just don't want to make anything worse. I've already caused you enough trouble."

The tears rolled freely down her cheeks, and when she looked up, Mulder was watching her, so sad and so lovingly with an anger at himself that she worried that he would cause himself so much harm by thinking that way. Reaching for him, she let her hand touch his cheek gently, watching as he closed his eyes and lean into her touch, the haunted look leaving for a brief moment.

"Mulder, you have to remember all the good things, and the fantastic times that you gave me too. I know that I said we can't get it back from here, but you can't beat yourself up for the rest of your life over this. You made a mistake, it doesn't make you a horrible person. It's just that circumstances...you know how things are now, they just mean that we can't move on from here."

She wasn't making much sense, she knew that. But she just wanted some way to ease some of his hurt, as he had hers. When she looked up again, the connection to those brown eyes was so strong, she found herself paralysed, unable to break the spell. He slowly moved towards her, and she was powerless to stop him. As his lips touched hers oh so gently, she felt so loved and so wonderful, as if all the hurt of the past weeks had been washed away completely. And as she kissed him back, she almost lost herself in the wonderful feeling of kissing the only man she had ever, or could ever love.

Until reality kicked back in and she pulled away suddenly, not missing the hurt look on Mulder's face as she did so. The pain was unbearable again, to know what she had lost. Standing so roughly that she nearly fell, she backed away from him as he stood, trying to calm her down. She only barely held back the floodgate as a few tears managed to escape, backing towards the door as she threw it open. They were tears for what she had lost, and what she still longed for, especially now.

"Leave, Mulder, please. I can't do this, please."

"Scully, calm down. I'm sorry, I don't want to leave you when you're not safe alone. Please, I won't come near you, but please let me stay."

"No, Mulder, you need to go. Please, just...just go!"

Sighing, his shoulders drooped as he made his way out of the door, feeling it slam behind him as she barely gave him enough time to get out. His heart broke into a thousand pieces as he heard her fall into a ball on the floor, her back against the door. Her sobs were audible to him outside the door, even as his own tears fell. Crouching down, he rested his forehead against the door where her head should be, wanting to scoop her into his arms and make everything alright again, but knowing that this was the closest he could get to doing that, even if she didn't know that he was still there. He was always there for her.

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**Well at least there was a kiss, eh? More cheerful soon I promise :) Please let me know what you think, and thanks for reading!**


	8. What's Wrong With Scully?

**Hi everyone, wow thanks so much for the reviews, and for sticking with me and still reading! It really means a lot guys, I'm a very happy person! Anyways, here's the next bit, I really hope it's OK! And I should get to update again this week if you guys like it :)**

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The following morning, Scully carefully applied her makeup, covering the red streaks on her face as best as she could, and the black bags beneath her eyes showing that she had had little sleep and giving away how ill she felt. Pulling open the door, she let out a little yelp as she nearly feel flat onto her face. Turning around, her heart broke as she saw Mulder lying flat out on her floor, wincing where her foot had kicked him in the side, his head resting uncomfortably on his coat.

"Mulder?" she asked gently, crouching to run her hand through his hair softly, seeing him smile a sad smile at her.

"Morning, Scully."

"What on Earth are you doing?"

Sitting up, he looked up at her sheepishly as she stayed crouched next to him, looking at him in concern.

"Well I wanted to make sure you were alright, and this was the only way I could think to do it. I figured I'd hear you if there was a problem and I could come in and make sure you were alright."

She watched him in amazement for a moment, before leaning forwards and kissing his cheek gently. It was the best thank you he could ever have thought of. Reaching into her bag, she handed him her key with a soft smile.

"Go and have breakfast and wash up before you leave. Just leave the key with my landlord when you go."

As she walked away, she paused awkwardly and turned just as Mulder opened her door.

"Mulder," she called, watching as he turned instantly. "Thank you."

He just smiled in response, having no option but to watch as the woman that he loved walked away from him yet again.

* * *

Skinner looked up in surprised as he watched Scully walk through the door to his office. Jumping up, he noticed the awkward look on her face, and how pale she still looked. Guiding her to a chair, he perched on the end of his desk for once, looking at her critically.

"How are you feeling?" he asked after a moment, seeing her give him a genuine smile.

"I feel fine, sir," she replied, laughing as he gave her a disbelieving look. "Actually, that's why I'm here."

Moving so that he was sat next to her, she sighed and looked down at her hands clasped on her knee, not really sure how to go on from here.

"What is it, Scully? Can I help with something?"

He looked so honestly willing to help, that she almost let the tears that always seemed near at hand fall. Choking them back, she smiled sadly at him.

"Sir, I asked you for a transfer to Quantico a while ago, and I'm no longer in a position to stay in Washington. So I was hoping that you might give me that transfer now."

He looked surprised. "What on Earth happened to change your mind?"

She swallowed, suspecting that the conversation would turn this way, but still unprepared all the same.

"I'm...I'm pregnant," she choked out, looking sad, content and embarrassed all at once.

Skinner's jaw dropped, expecting anything except that. He cleared his throat in surprise.

"Well congratulations!" he replied, seeing her nod sadly. "Is that why...yesterday..."

She nodded. "Yes. It seemed I had overdone it slightly," she replied with a wince.

He nodded. "And is, I mean is Mulder the father?" Scully blushed, unable to meet his eyes as she nodded. "Does he know? Well no, obviously he doesn't. Are you going to tell him?"

The tears fell as Scully shook her head, wiping them away. "I can't...I can't tell him. I can't do that to him or to myself. So I need to get out of Washington before I start showing, sir," she replied, looking up at him with begging eyes.

He sighed, rubbing his face as he tried to decide what to do. "Well I just think you're being a bit unfair on him, Scully, if you don't give him a chance to prove himself, despite your past grievances."

She shook her head, wiping more tears from her cheeks. "It isn't that simple."

Skinner moved closer to her, patting her arm gently as he felt so sorry for the broken woman in front of him, wondering how Mulder had managed to upset her this badly. "Go on, Scully."

"We were dating for a time," she started shakily, expecting a reprimand from Skinner and getting none as he nodded.

"I gathered as much, and I must say that it took you long enough!"

She laughed slightly. "Yes that's true. But Mulder...he made a mistake."

"What do you mean?"

"He...well he had a one night stand with Diana when he was on the case you assigned us."

Skinner nodded. "Well that was unforgivable of him, but I'm still not seeing the problem, Scully."

"She's pregnant too," she blurted out, her shoulders shaking as she was unable to hold back the sobs anymore.

Pulling her into a hug, Skinner held his little agent until the sobs had subsided a bit. Scully had always been his favourite agent, Mulder coming a close second, and it grieved him to see them both so upset. Looking down at Scully's devastated face, he knew that he would do whatever he could to help her now.

"Oh, Scully, I'm sorry," he murmured, and she sat up, wiping her cheeks clean and shook her head.

"It's alright, I just didn't know I was...you know...until yesterday and it's a bit much to deal with. But Mulder, he decided that he had to stay with Diana and help raise his child, because it was his mistake too."

Skinner nodded. "I see." He thought for a moment, thinking of the best plan of action before giving Scully a reassuring smile. "It's going to be alright, Scully, you'll always have my support."

"Thank you, sir, thank you."

He shook his head, waving off her thanks. "I still think that Mulder would support you in a moment if you told him the whole story. I know he has been incredibly worried about you."

She nodded. "I don't doubt that. But I can't put that kind of pressure on him to choose. If he were to be with me, I would want it to be because he wants to be there, not out of some sense of obligation."

Skinner smiled gently at her, not surprised that forgiveness didn't even seem to enter into the equation as an issue for her. "As your friend, Scully, I'm telling you that I'm am pretty sure from what I've seen that Mulder still loves you. It's unmistakable every time he looks at you, and I'd say from seeing you now that you feel the same." She nodded sadly. "And I really feel that this should be his choice, not yours."

She shook her head, watching him sadly. "It's easier this way. I don't think I can survive any more hurt, and it's not fair to put all of that on Mulder."

"So you'd rather put it all on yourself?" She didn't answer, but Skinner felt amazed by this small woman, who would still do everything in her power to protect the man that she loved. "Fair enough, I'll sign the transfer. But I must tell you I'm incredibly uneasy about this situation."

She nodded. "Thank you, sir."

He nodded. "Keep in touch, Scully. And you know that I'm always here for you, any time you need help."

* * *

A few months passed, and an incredibly pregnant Scully pulled her car in front of the very familiar building, ringing the bell cheerfully. The sound of at least six locks sliding back came clearly across, before she smiled at the familiar face of Langley.

"Scully! We didn't know if you'd make it this month, with the growing youngster and all that."

She smiled. "I'm pregnant, Langley, not dying," she replied as she pulled him into a hug.

"You've not lost any of that Scully wit then?" Byers asked as he appeared. "Frohike is just putting the kettle on."

They sat and chatted about their lives over the past month. The Gunmen described all their latest conspiracy theories which Scully looked incredibly doubtful about and tried to shoot down on every possible occasion, and Scully told them about Quantico and her classes. Eventually, the inevitable happened and Frohike accidentally mentioned Mulder, all three of them watching anxiously as the smile faded slightly from Scully's face.

"How is he?"

"He's fine," Langley told her, very unconvincingly. Scully raised her eyebrow in disbelief.

Byers sighed. "He's miserable. He's been looking everywhere for you, and is going out of his mind with worry. He's been round here nearly every day asking us to help him find you, and I know he's been irritating the life out of Skinner. Wouldn't it just be easier to meet him and show him that you're alright?"

She laughed. "I think he might have a heart attack if I show up like this!" she joked, none of the Gunmen laughing with her.

"He still loves you, Scully, with all that he is."

She shook her head, looking around all three of them. "No, he doesn't."

"You haven't seen him recently," Byers reprimanded her, seeing her nod thoughtfully. "And you still love him, don't you?"

She nodded, close to tears. "Of course I do. I'll always love him. He was...is my one and only."

The rest of the night went without difficulty. The Gunmen avoided the subject of Mulder, but watched Scully anxiously, wishing that they could find a way to reunite the agents.

They jumped as Scully suddenly doubled over as she got up to fetch a coffee, holding her stomach painfully. She looked down dismayed as her waters broke, seeing Langley about to pass out and Frohike looking completely lost, she almost laughed.

"Byers, can you call an ambulance?"

So that was how it happened, that by a stroke of pure luck, or fate, Mulder happened to be calling on the Gunmen to give them his latest scrap of evidence of where Scully was, that he saw the unmistakable flash of auburn hair as the paramedics lifted her into the ambulance, the Gunmen all watching anxiously. Hearing a groan of pain in Scully's familiar voice, he dropped the paper, dashing towards the ambulance just as the doors were closed.

"Scully!" he shouted, trying to get at the ambulance, only to find his way blocked by the Gunmen.

"Mulder? What the hell are you doing here?" Langley asked, holding his friend around the waist so that he could go no further.

"Let me go, Langley, that was Scully!" he replied irritably, still trying to fight his way free, and finding that he had to watch as the ambulance put on its sirens and rushed her away from him.

"What...why did you do that? Is she OK? Is she hurt? What's going on?" he babbled, Byers taking charge and pushing him into their house gently.

"She'll be fine, Mulder," Frohike told him, trying to get him to sit down and have a coffee. He stopped dead when he saw that her coat and bag were still sitting neatly next to the chair that she had been sitting in, causing him to jump up again.

"She was here! You knew where she was? All this time and you didn't tell me?"

"Will you just calm down, Mulder?"

"No I will not calm down! Why didn't you tell me?"

Byers sighed. "What you did was unforgivable. We were firmly on Scully's side of this argument, and she didn't want to see you. So we couldn't tell you where she was. But she has been visiting, so we knew that she was alright."

He shook his head. "I have to see her."

"I don't think that's a good idea, Mulder. She's not really in a condition to see you right now, and she won't want you to be there."

He sighed. "You don't understand, Byers! I have no choice, I have to see her! I can't take this anymore, I can't live without her. I don't care what it takes, I have to make this right. And I need to know that she's alright, even though I know that she isn't."

Looking at each other uneasily, Byers finally nodded. "Alright. We'll drive you. But if she tells you to go, then you have to leave."

Mulder nodded, knowing that it was the best offer he was going to get. Practically racing out of the door, he urged the Gunmen to drive faster, desperate to see her.

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**So there we have it! Please let me know what you think, I really want to get it right so you all enjoy reading it! Thanks so much for still reading :)**


	9. A New Arrival

**Hi everyone, well here's the next bit! And I was so touched by all your reviews, I'm really glad people are reading and enjoying it a bit! Special thanks to Anniegilly, you're the best :) I hope this part is OK anyway, and that you've all had a good week :)**

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Mulder was shocked when he was guided to a maternity ward. His heart constricted painfully in his chest as he realised that Scully must have moved on without him. Despite that, he still knew that he had to see her, even if he could only have her as a friend, he had to have her in his life.

Walking into her room, he stopped dead in the doorway at the sight before him. Scully was looking down at a tiny bundle in her arms with the most loving and adoring expression that he had ever seen. She looked radiant, and so happy. He couldn't help but smile, despite the circumstances.

She looked up in surprise to see him standing there, the tired rings around her eyes visible now that she was looking straight at him. Squashing down the feeling that she was complete now he was there, Scully smiled gently at him, letting him know that it was alright for him to come in, even if she felt a bit awkward and uncomfortable with the whole situation.

"Mulder!" she exclaimed quietly, making him dash closer and lean down to kiss her gently on the cheek.

"Hey, Scully. I was so worried about you," he told her, searching her face to assure himself that she was alright. His hand found her cheek instinctively, and she held it in place with hers, leaning into his touch.

"I'm fine, Mulder," she assured him, watching him with such love that his heart soared.

Finally tearing his gaze away from the lovely face that he hadn't seen in such a long time, he looked down to see the most adorable little baby asleep in her arms. His face split into a huge grin, and he looked back up at her in amazement to see her grinning happily at him, a sight that he hadn't seen in such a long time.

"His name's Joe," she told him, holding him out to Mulder, who looked at her in shock that after everything she was going to share this moment with him.

Taking the tiny boy into his arms, he looked down so happily at him. He couldn't describe why, but he felt so much love for this little boy despite the fact that he was not his child. At the same time there was a slight bitter sadness that this moment should have been his, and this should have been his family. He pushed it aside, determined to be happy for Scully's sake, especially if this were the last time that he would see her. Although he truly hoped that would not be the case.

"Hey, Joe," he whispered, leaning down to kiss the boy gently.

Scully's eyes welled with tears as she watched. She wasn't sure if she should have let Mulder hold his son. But something in her told her that it was only fair that he should get that chance, even if he didn't know the truth. Her heart broke despite the happiness, wishing that they could be a family, but knowing that it could never happen.

Looking up, Mulder saw the tears about to fall down her face and started. Placing the sleeping child in his crib gently, he rushed back to Scully's side, sitting down next to her and pulling her into a firm hug.

"Shh, Scully, don't cry! You should be happy!" he told her, letting her cry into his shoulder, and quite pleased when her arms wrapped around his waist.

"I am happy. I just...never mind," she told him, pulling away with a sniff and a small smile, which he returned eagerly.

"How are you feeling?"

She smiled at him gently. "I'm fine. A bit exhausted, but fine apart from that," she assured him. "How have you been?"

"Oh you know me, I'm always swimming along," he told her cheerfully, feeling so happy now that he was back around Scully and she hadn't sent him away yet. He rubbed his neck awkwardly. "Is this, I mean, is it why you collapsed that day at work?" he asked her gently, seeing her nod and laugh slightly.

"Yes, it seems I overdid it a little." She shrugged in embarrassment.

He laughed. "Why doesn't that surprise me! I wish you'd told me, I was so worried. Although I can see why you didn't."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence as Mulder watched Joe, occasionally switching his attention back to watching Scully, and Scully watched Mulder thoughtfully. She had no idea what to do in this situation, having never thought that it would happen. But for now, she was just so happy to have both her boys in the same room that she would leave the consequences for later. She still wished she didn't feel so much better now that Mulder was there.

"Where have you been, Scully? I looked everywhere for you," he asked gently, seeing her jump as she hadn't realised he had been looking at her, too lost in her own world.

"I was at Quantico, teaching," she replied, seeing him nod and curse that he hadn't thought to check such an obvious place. "Don't be annoyed at the boys and Skinner. They didn't tell you because I asked them not to. I wanted to give us both a chance to move on."

"I could never move on," Mulder murmured, so quietly that she nearly missed it.

She almost cried at that sweet sentence. She felt just the same, but knew she had to be strong and not admit it. While she looked at the ceiling, willing herself not to cry, she cursed life for being so unfair.

Watching her closely, Mulder saw the sadness fill her again, and wanted to take it all away. Scully jumped when he suddenly moved, picking her up gently so that he could sit behind her. He pulled her gently backwards, cradling him against his chest so that she was completely wrapped in his arms and legs. Thanking any God that would listen that she hadn't moved away, he kissed her head softly.

"I missed you so much, Scully," he murmured, hearing her intake of breath as she nodded, letting him know in that simple gesture that she felt the same as her hand clasped his resting on her stomach. "Get some sleep. Goodness knows you need it, you look exhausted."

She instantly felt uncomfortable, Mulder picking up on the mood and immediately knowing why. He chuckled happily, thrilled that she had let him into her emotions again.

"Don't worry, I'll still be here when you wake up."

As soon as she had his reassurance, she lost herself into the best sleep she had had in months, enfolded in the arms of the man who loved her with his entire self, and who she was starting to realise that she could not live without.

* * *

She woke with a start, instantly missing his strong arms around her. As soon as she opened her eyes she saw him, a soft smile playing on her lips as she watched, her heart swelling with so much love for him.

He was walking around the room with Joe carefully held in his arms, smiling so lovingly at him. Every object he came to, he told Joe it's name, repeating it a few times as if he could say it back. Scully held back a giggle as she watched. He heart stopped as she heard him start talking to her son, tears running down her face as she listened.

"You have such an amazing woman for your mum, Joe, and one day when you're older, I'm going to tell you all about her, and all about the incredible things that she's done. And you've got to always treat her right, because it was the biggest mistake I ever made to lose her, and every day I pray that I could go back in time and change things back to how they were." He laughed, humourlessly. "I still love her, Joe, so very much. I always will."

"Mulder," she called gently, seeing him jump and spin around quickly, seeing her sitting there crying.

Rushing over to her, he sat gingerly on the edge of her bed, holding Joe with one hand and wiping her tears away with another.

"I'm so sorry, Scully, I never meant for you to hear that. And I know that I'm not in your life or Joe's, but I really want to find a way to be, if you'd let me. I definitely didn't want to upset you."

"You didn't, Mulder, it was lovely, what you said."

He smiled. "I mean it, Scully, I'll do anything, I can't live without you anymore. It doesn't matter how small a part you let me play in your life, please just let me see you sometimes. If it's once a year, I can live with that."

She smiled at him, the tears almost starting again at how sweet he was being. She saw him look down at Joe and knew what he was thinking. Their invisible connection it seemed had come straight back. She knew that he was thinking that it didn't matter that she had slept with someone else, he would still always love her, and Joe, if she would let him. Her heart broke as she wished she could tell him the truth.

Handing Joe back to her, Mulder watched as she looked down on him, her face full of love, as she traced a finger over his tiny cheek, holding his hand gently. He sat further on her bed so that he was level with her, wrapping his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him as he grinned down at the tiny boy as well.

"Should I call his father?" he asked suddenly, seeing Scully start and look up at him in surprise. She smiled adoringly at him, knowing that he would even take a back seat for Scully's partner so long as he could see her, and his devotion astonished her.

She blushed, and looked back down at Joe, not able to look him in the eye. "He doesn't have a father," she told him gently, seeing him raise his eyebrows in surprise out of the corner of her eye.

As he sat there, content to hold her in his arms again, Mulder thought about how surprised he was that Scully's partner wasn't around anymore. She wasn't the type to have a one night stand, or he had always thought that. Yet as he thought more, his mind settled on the dates. Looking down at Joe, he didn't look premature. Which meant he had to have been conceived...

Jumping up from the bed, he looked at Scully in surprise. She watched him warily, hoping that this conversation was not going to go into dangerous territory. His mouth opened and closed, as he found himself completely lost for words.

"Scully...is...I...Dana...is Joe...is he my son?" he finally managed to blurt out.

He watched as Scully closed her eyes, as if in pain. She looked up, tears running down her cheeks again, as she wondered how she could explain this, what to do, and how to handle the situation. She had not prepared for this, and had thought if the issue came up it would be many years from now.

That was all the answer Mulder needed. He threw his hands up in the air before dropping his head into them, all the air leaving his body as the enormity of the moment hit him. That beautiful little boy, that he already loved and felt so attached to, that was his son. And he had had him with the only woman he could ever or had ever loved. It just seemed too much to be true.

Looking up after a moment, he saw that Scully was still crying, watching him with a mixture of sadness and curiosity. He knew then that she wasn't sure what he was thinking, or whether he was happy or not. Moving forwards, he took Joe from her, placing him once more in his crib to sleep. Joining her on the bed again, he scooped her onto his lap, rocking her gently as he held her tightly to him, kissing her head.

"Oh, Scully! Why didn't you tell me before? I could have helped! I want to help."

"I didn't want you to have to choose," she choked out, looking up at him still a little guarded.

His mouth opened wordlessly as he was amazed that she thought there would have been a choice for him. Then again, given the situation he could hardly blame her. Taking her face gently in his hands, he made sure that their eyes were completely locked.

"Dana...oh my God! That was never a choice! There was only one thing that I would ever, _could_ ever have done!"

"What about Diana?"

He hugged her closer, kissing her head again. "You are so much more important than that. I know it took me a while to realise that, but my obligation should have always been to you. It was to you in my heart, but I just...I wanted to do what was right for the baby, you know. But if I had know...if I'd had any inkling that you were...I mean there is absolutely no choice there, Scully, there never would be."

She sighed. "But nothing's changed, Mulder."

He laughed. "Of course it has! That obligation has gone, because now I have the same obligation to you as well. And there is no choice. Oh Scully, I always wanted, longed to be with you. I love you, so much, I really do."

She grinned, running her fingers gently through his hair, as her other hand lay entwined with his on her lap. He cleared his throat after a moment.

"I really want to be there for you and Joe, Scully. I want...I mean I'd love for us to be a family. If you'd ever consider that."

She hesitated, looking into his eyes. "There's so many things we'd need to work through first, Mulder, before that could ever happen. There's not just me anymore, there's Joe too, and I don't want him to get hurt ever."

He nodded. "I know, I know. But I really want to try. I'll do anything, Scully, anything you want."

She nodded, looking up at him and pulling his forehead down to rest against hers. "I missed you so much, Mulder."

He groaned, pulling her against him and this time she melted into his embrace, more than happy to curl up next to him again as she always should have been. He kissed her forehead, smoothing her hair with his hand.

"Me too Scully, so so much."

* * *

Skinner smiled to himself as he stood watching through the open hospital room door. Scully's eyes were alight with happiness, like he hadn't seen in such a long time, focussed so intently on the little bundle in her arms that she never noticed the AD standing in the doorway until he started forwards. Her face beamed at him as he smiled back, pleased to see the man that had helped her so much when she really needed him to.

"Hi Scully, how are you feeling?" he asked, hovering awkwardly by her bedside until she motioned for him to sit in the chair.

"I'm fine, sir, thank you." She paused for a moment, watching his eager face as he tried to see the baby. "Did you want to?"

He smiled in amazement as Scully handed the tiny baby over. His eyes roamed over the perfect little face, looking up at Scully with a stunned smile. Scully chuckled to herself, not used to seeing her usually stern superior melt over anything.

"Have you thought about what you want to do now?" he asked gently, finally breaking his gaze from the baby to look at Scully. She blushed, looking down at her hands.

"I don't know. I haven't really given much thought as to what I want," she answered honestly with a shrug. "I guess I'd assumed I'd continue to teach at Quantico."

Skinner sighed, rubbing his neck uneasily. He had hoped that with the birth of her baby, Scully might feel differently about telling Mulder the truth. It might have been a bad mistake that Mulder had made, but after seeing him pining for Scully over the past few months, he felt that his poor agent deserved another chance, and just prayed that there would be a way for him to have one, so that his two agents could find that happiness again.

"What about Mulder?"

Scully looked up in surprise, not expecting the question, and searched Skinner's face for any clue that he knew what had taken place the day before. She sighed, knowing that she couldn't lie to him.

"He found out about Joe," she said, seeing Skinner's surprised expression. "He was at the Gunmen's when I was taken away by ambulance and he made them bring him to see me."

Skinner nodded thoughtfully. "How did he take it?"

She shrugged. "He was alright. I don't know, he seemed just pleased to see me. And he...well he guessed that Joe was his and I didn't have the heart to lie to him. He wants to be a family."

Skinner's eyebrows shot up at this unexpected news. He could hardly contain a smile that had already started to form as this new information sank in.

"What do you want?"

She sighed, tears forming in her eyes again as she refused to let them fall. "The only thing I have ever wanted is Mulder. I just...I'm too afraid that I'm going to get my heart broken again."

He nodded. "Take it slow, Scully. Just see where things go."

They were interrupted when the door opened again, and a beaming Mulder stood in the doorway, armed with a bouquet of flowers. He nodded at Skinner with a happy smile, before walking straight to Scully and kissing her gently on the cheek.

"Hey, Scully," he told her, placing the flowers on the bedside table for her.

"Hi, Mulder. Aww, they're beautiful," she told him, returning his smile shyly as she smelt the flowers he had left for her.

Hugging her to him for a moment, Skinner watched as the usually brisk agent melted against him, obviously enjoying being there, just as much as he was enjoying having her in his arms once more.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him after a while, Mulder releasing her to sit on the side of her bed, smiling down at her.

"Well, I heard you were getting discharged today, and thought you might need a lift home."

"So you were looking for an excuse to come back?" She quipped her eyebrow at him, watching as he laughed easily.

"Something like that."

She sighed. "You don't need an excuse, Mulder, you should spend time with your son."

"And you?" he asked, looking at her hopefully. She blushed again and avoided his eyes.

"We'll see."

Skinner watched as Mulder waited for her to meet his eyes again, slightly disappointed when she refused to look up at him. Feeling slightly uncomfortable as the third wheel, he wandered to Mulder, handing Joe over to his very eager father.

"Well, it's good to see you looking well, Scully. I'll pop by in a couple of days and check on you."

She smiled, grasping his hand before he left. "Thank you, sir. It's good to see you."

"And you," he told her, returning the smile. "Take care, Agents."

Pausing in the window, he laughed out loud at the sight before him. Mulder scooted over on the bed to sit right next to Scully once Skinner had left, his free arm going instantly around her shoulders to hold her protectively against him. His gaze moved between looking at his son and looking at his partner, the pure love and happiness never changing in his expression. And from the sly smile on Scully's face, he knew that she was just as pleased to be there as he was.

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**Whoo so there's the end of that bit. I promised a happy ending, and I thought it was time for a happy chapter so there we are. I really hope that was alright anyway, please let me know what you think! Have a great weekend everyone :D**


	10. Living in Happiness

**Hi everyone! Hope you're all having a great weekend! Here's the next part, thank you so much to you guys who reviewed, I was really touched and happy :) And thanks to everyone who'se still reading! Hope this part is OK :)**

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He carried the brand new blue car seat that he had bought on the way to the hospital as if it were made of glass. Scully watched with amusement as he set it gingerly on her table, easing his son out effortlessly and kissing his forehead gently. Looking up, he caught her amused eyes and blushed slightly, smiling back.

"I thought I'd go put him to bed for you, you know, while you put your feet up," he offered, seeing her face soften.

"Sure, Mulder, I'll put the kettle on," she replied, watching as he cradled the little boy to his chest, walking through to the nursery she had painted only a few weeks ago in a bright lemon colour.

She sighed happily, running her hand easily around the back of her neck as she stretched. It sure felt good to be home again, especially with the added bonus of how everything had turned out recently. Somehow, she still felt like this was too good to be true, and that her world was going to crash around her again at some point. But for now, she was too happy to be back with Mulder, and to have him in Joe's life.

"I think that probably boiled hours ago," came an amused voice from behind her, and it was Scully's turn to blush that Mulder had caught her daydreaming.

"Coffee?" she asked, grabbing two cups from the cupboard. Mulder gulped, thanking God that she had asked him to stay a little longer, and determined to do nothing to mess up this bit of space he had been granted with Scully again.

He only just managed to break his train of thought in time to catch the box that she threw in his direction a moment later, laughing at his shocked expression.

"What's this?" he asked, looking down as his heart started to beat slightly faster. He was looking down at the film he used to make Scully watch all the time at his apartment, way back when he had yet to work up the courage to tell her how much he loved her.

"I think it's supposed to go in the DVD player," she replied sarcastically, her attempt to lighten the mood falling flat as he looked at her in loving wonder.

"I didn't know you had a copy," he told her, walking with her to the couch and realising that this meant she intended for him to stay at least for a while.

She blushed. "I guess I wanted something that would remind me of you."

He could think of nothing to say, so amazed by her honesty. Reaching out across the couch, he grabbed her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze as she looked up into his eyes, seeing the love radiating out towards her. Then he looked away, breaking the spell, and set the disc in the DVD player, settling back on the couch to watch it, feeling the old comfortable silence fill the room that they used to enjoy together so long ago.

The time seemed to pass so quickly as they sat there together. Mulder almost felt like none of the horrible things had happened, and that they were just the way they had always been. They giggled together just as always at the funny bits, or at Mulder's witty comments throughout, and Scully even responded to his innuendo just as she had always done.

Scully had thought she had been in control of the situation, but her heart seemed to have other ideas. She had started at one end of the couch from him, the popcorn bowl firmly in between them. And somehow she seemed to have ended up sitting next to him, probably from the couple of times she had moved to check on Joe. And now, despite her best efforts to be sensible, she found herself as the credits started to roll, snugged into his side, with his arm around her shoulder protectively, his hand tracing unknown patterns on the top of her arm. She was surprised at how right it felt, and how relaxed she felt after such a long time of pain.

She looked up at him a moment later, and saw him smiling down at her so tenderly. It felt like everything in the world had finally turned out alright again. Bending down, he kissed her forehead gently, feeling her melt against him with a happy sigh.

"I think I should probably head off, Scully, and let you get your rest," he told her gently. She nodded, fighting the feeling that she really wanted him to stay.

"Thanks for tonight, Mulder, it was lovely," she replied, her eyes half closed already, but with such a peaceful expression.

He nodded. "It was, Scully, but I should be the one thanking you," he replied, the unspoken meaning hitting her instantly. "Scully, I...I was wondering if I could come back tomorrow? I'd really like to see you both again."

She nodded, yawning hugely. He grinned, brushing a stray piece of hair from her face tenderly.

"Sure, Mulder, I'd like that," she assured him, sighing as sleep almost overtook her completely. She was just exhausted from all the mixed feelings that had been rushing through her recently.

Smiling lovingly down at her, Mulder realised how truly exhausted she really was. Reaching down, he easily lifted her up into his arms, the movement waking her slightly. She smiled sleepily up at him, wrapping her arms around his neck it make it easier for him to carry her.

He walked through to her bedroom and laid her ever so gently down on her bed, holding the covers up so that she could easily scoot under. She smiled happily as he tucked the covers around her neck to keep her warm, kissing her forehead gently and rubbing her cheek before he finally managed to tear his eyes away and leave. He checked that the baby monitor was safely on for her, and had almost made it to the door when he heard her shift uncomfortably.

"Mulder?" she asked softly, seeing him turn to face her. He gasped, as the moonlight lay across her bed, catching her face perfectly so that she looked like the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"What's wrong, Scully?"

She shifted uncomfortably, reaching for his hand as he made his way back over. "Don't go."

He sighed, wishing that those words were not the very words that he had been praying that he would hear again one day. Dropping his head, he watched their entwined hands, patting hers with his free hand before raising it to her cheek, rubbing it gently with a sad smile.

"I don't think it's a good idea for me to stay, Scully. Why don't you think about it when you're feeling better, and we'll talk about it then."

She smiled sleepily at him, grateful secretly that he hadn't pushed her boundaries. With that, she finally fell into a light sleep, feeling him kiss her cheek softly before closing the door gently behind him.

He wandered in to see Joe, his smile deepening when he sees his son lying in a deep sleep himself. He was so happy to just watch him, amazed at the tiny little person before him that they had created.

"Hey, Joe," he whispered, making sure not to disturb the tiny boy. "I'm gonna be here for you, you know. No matter what. I love you so much, I'm so glad your mom told me all about you. And I'm gonna get her back, Joe, I don't care what that takes. She's the only person I could ever love. Well except you. And besides, you need a definite baseball influence while you're growing up."

He sighed, knowing that he needed to leave, but not quite able to tear his eyes away. Finally, he leant down to kiss him gently, before walking quietly from the room, grabbing his coat and closing the front door behind him as he left. He didn't realise that Scully had heard every word over the baby monitor. She lay for a moment, tears running down her face as she was amazed by how much that man loved her, pleased that it was still just as much as she loved him. Curling up, she fell asleep with a smile on her face, looking forward to better times.

* * *

It had been ten days since Scully and Joe came back to their apartment. And Mulder, true to his word, had visited them every day, pleased that Scully had let him. Their evenings together had also carried on, trying to get back to somewhere near where they were before. Scully had not been so happy in a long time. Still, there was a niggle in the back of her mind as she knew where Mulder was going back each night. And no matter how much she tried to put it away, it ate away at her, reminding her that life was not like she wanted it to be.

Walking through the park the following day, Scully was deep in thought, the pushchair making a gentle creaking in front of her. She almost walked into someone, seeing him jump out of the way as she snapped her attention back to her surroundings, dashing forwards.

"I'm so sorry..." she started, before seeing Skinner raising his eyebrows at her. "Oh my God, I'm sorry, sir! I wasn't looking where I was going."

"I can see that!" he quipped back, smiling gently at her. "Something on your mind, Scully?"

She hesitated for a moment, before shaking her head and trying a reassuring smile, seeing Skinner looking at her doubtfully.

"Come on, Scully, I'll buy you a coffee."

They sat together in silence for a moment, Scully getting her thoughts together as Skinner smiled happily down at the little boy in the pram, his face a picture of happiness as he gurgled around at everything. Eventually, Scully sighed, making Skinner return his attention to the small agent who looked so troubled.

"What's wrong?"

She sighed. "Nothing, sir. Well, nothing important. I just..." She paused, seeing Skinner watching her expectantly. "I couldn't be happier, sir, with Mulder and with Joe, but I just, I know where he's going back to each night, and it's just...it's just not the way I would have planned it."

Skinner nodded, putting his cup down. "Scully, talk to Mulder. Tell him what's on your mind."

Looking suspicious, Scully turned to face her boss fully. "You know something."

"Just...talk to Mulder."

Skinner smiled gently at Scully, before walking out and leaving her alone. She sipped her coffee, deep in thought. Once he was out of sight, Skinner took his phone out, ringing his rogue agent.

"Get your ass down to the coffee house in the park, Mulder. You need to talk to Scully."

He smiled, knowing that would be enough to have Mulder running to the park. So Scully was surprised when moments later, Mulder burst through the door looking for her. He made his way straight over, slightly out of breath.

"What's wrong, Scully? Skinner called and told me to get down here."

"He what?" she asked, standing up in surprise, before she realised that Mulder was still watching her with concern. She shook her head, grasping his upper arm gently. "Nothing's wrong, Mulder, I'm fine. We're fine."

"But he said we needed to talk," he replied, looking at her still slightly panicked. She smiled, grasping his hand.

"Well, yes, we do. But it's nothing you need to worry about."

He searched her face for a moment, before deciding that she was truly alright. Grabbing his wallet, he made his way to the counter, Scully watching him in amazement.

"Mulder..." she started, seeing him turn and cut her off with just a look.

"I'll be right back, Scully. Meet me outside."

He reappeared moments later, a smile cutting through his face as he saw Scully standing over the pushchair, grinning down at her son as she played with him, his giggles reaching Mulder from across the path. She saw him as he started forwards, her own face grinning as she saw that he had a picnic in his arms, along with a blanket to sit on.

They had a great time, all thoughts of talking far out of their minds as they sat eating, both of them taking it in turns to play with Joe. Eventually, Joe fell asleep in his pram, Scully taking the opportunity to burrow closer to Mulder, Mulder being more than happy to wrap his arm around his woman. She sighed peacefully.

"You know, I can't remember being more happy than this," she told him, craning her head up to see his face. He grinned, running his fingers on her cheek softly.

"Me either, Scully."

"Mulder, I..." she started, breaking off with a shake of her head. He moved so that he could see her face, tipping it up with two fingers beneath her chin so that he could see her face.

"What is it, Scully? You can tell me anything, you know that."

She sighed. "I just, well I love having you back in our lives, Mulder, and being with you but...I can't shake off that I know where you're going back to each night and it's killing me."

He nodded, moving his arm from around her and rubbing the back of his neck anxiously. She watched him, eventually reaching up to grab his hand and hold it supportively in hers.

"I didn't want to tell you, Scully, because I didn't want you to think that I was a bad person."

"What do you mean?" she asked, seeing a look of self-loathing cross over his face for a moment as he looked at the grass between his feet.

"I left Diana in my apartment months ago now, when I finally realised that I couldn't be without you and started looking for you."

Scully gasped, caressing his cheek gently as she fought to find sensible words. "Where have you been living?"

"About an hours drive away. I couldn't afford to keep two apartments in the city."

She sat speechless for a moment, unable to believe that he had done all of this for her. Tears started in her eyes as she put her arms around his neck, pulling away to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Thank you," she murmured, knowing how much this affected him.

He laughed. "The thing is, Scully, I've never been happier once I left, and especially when I found you again. That's the problem."

She smiled softly, catching his eyes so that he was looking directly at her before speaking.

"Mulder, you're too hard on yourself! You're supporting Diana financially, and I assume that you'll see your child once it's born. You even tried living with her for a while. You've more than done your duty by her, and you deserve to be happy yourself as well."

"What, even after everything I've done and everything I've messed up?"

She smiled at him. "You've done a lot of good things as well, Mulder. Don't forget about those."

He nodded, amazed that she still believed in him so completely, despite everything. He seemed a little happier as he took a crying Joe into his arms, dancing around with him happily. Yet she still saw the haunted look in his eyes as he played with his son, despite the happiness and love for both of them. She sighed. Things were so much better than she ever thought they could be, but they still had a long way to go yet.

* * *

They sat on the couch together that night watching a film, laughing together like old times. Mulder looked down, happiness welling in his chest as his eyes confirmed that Scully was indeed curled up in his arms, her hand linked with his on their lap. He let out a contented sigh, the world seeming right when they sat like this.

After a moment, she rubbed his arm gently, grabbing his attention away from the happy thoughts. Looking down again at her upturned face, he saw that she was watching him with concern.

"I hope you're not giving yourself a hard time over everything, Mulder. I just...I wanted you to know how proud of you I am for doing the right thing."

He was astonished that she had followed his train of thought so easily. His mouth opened as he watched her, wondering again what he had done to deserve this woman.

"Scully..."

"No, Mulder, listen. I know you, I know what you must be thinking. But you haven't let the child down, and you haven't done anything you should be ashamed of to Diana."

He sighed, hugging her to him and kissing her head gently. "I don't deserve you, Scully, I really don't," he told her gently, seeing her shake her head to refute him. "Thank you, Scully, for everything. For giving me another chance, and telling me about Joe, and just for everything. I know I didn't deserve another chance, but I promise, I will do everything in my power to make sure that nothing can take this away again."

"Oh, Mulder," she groaned, turning so that she could wrap her arms around his neck, kissing his forehead gently. "Of course you deserved a second chance, everyone does and you've done so many good things. And besides, there's the problem that I missed you so much."

He smiled, feeling choked from all the love that he felt for this woman right now. "I missed you too," he whispered, seeing he smile happily at him.

Realising that it was getting late, Mulder kissed Scully's forehead, and stood to leave. It was the same routine that happened every night, that made sure they were both comfortable with the way everything was progressing. Only this time, Scully stood too and caught his hand, making him turn to look at her in surprise.

"Stay," she told him softly, stepping closer to him. "You don't have to drive all that way home."

He searched her face, uncertain whether he should step over this next barrier to their relationship. He sighed, rubbing his face wearily.

"Scully, I don't want to push things," he told her gently, his hand resting on her shoulder as he smiled and turned again to leave.

"I want you to stay, Mulder. I don't want to have to worry about you having an accident because you were driving too far when you were tired."

He sighed. "I didn't tell you about the flat so that this would happen."

"You didn't tell me about the flat at all, Mulder, I prised it out of you!" she replied with a laugh, hitting him gently on the shoulder. "Look, it's alright, I wouldn't ask you to stay if I didn't want you here. And you can't possibly feel like that huge long drive now."

Mulder smiled, seeing the love on her face that he had longed to see for such a long time. Pulling her in for a hug, he kissed her head gently before wandering off. She watched in surprise, until he reappeared again with some pillows and a blanket, putting them down on the sofa.

"Well in that case, I'll take the couch."

Scully's mouth fell open in surprise as she watched him make up a bed on her couch. It shouldn't surprise her, after so long together, that he could know her so well, but little things still caught her by surprise. Like now, when he somehow knew that she wasn't ready for that next step yet, so he would rather put himself out to sleep on her couch than make her uncomfortable. Catching her look as he finished his bed, Mulder looked at her quizzically, wondering what she was thinking.

Suddenly needing to show him what she was feeling, Scully closed the distance between them easily, Mulder looking confused. Her hands wrapped around his neck, pulling him down as her lips gently met his. He gasped against her, missing this feeling so much. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around her waist, not wanting to push her but enjoying feeling her kiss him again too much. She quickly deepened the kiss, her feelings of love for this man finally breaking through her walls of protection.

Eventually, she pulled away, backing from his arms slightly. They were breathing heavily, neither really sure what this changed, or where to go from there. Risking a glance up, Scully saw that Mulder was stood with his eyes shut, as if that could keep the moment in his memory for all time. When he opened them again, he saw that Scully was watching him, a smile on her face and her eyes full of love.

Tucking some hair behind her ear nervously, she moved to turn away. "Good night, Mulder," she told him softly, meeting his eyes for a moment to give him the most tender smile he had ever seen.

"Night, Scully," he told her, watching until she had quietly closed her bedroom door.

He laid down on the couch with a happy sigh, a smile permanently etched on his face as he looked up at the ceiling. Things had turned out alright after all. Rolling over and pulling the blanket further up, he slept the best night's sleep he had had in a long time.

* * *

**Well there we go! I'll try and update again later this week if you guys want? Please let me know what you think and how I can make it better! Thanks for reading :)**


	11. Times Of Trouble and Times of Happiness

**Hi all, well here's the next bit! This one's for my friend AnnieGilly, happy birthday! Hope you've had a great day :)**

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* * *

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Scully awoke with a start, feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. Rolling over, she felt her heart rise as she saw the time was 10:00 AM. Frantically reaching out for the baby monitor, she tried to slow her breathing a little as she saw that it was still on. Maybe Joe hadn't woken? Grabbing her dressing gown, she wandered out of her room, the sight before her making her heart stop all over again.

Mulder was sitting on her couch, the TV showing the latest ball game, with Joe in his arms, a bottle in one hand as he fed the tiny boy. Scully smiled, tears forming in her eyes as she heard him narrating the game, explaining who the players were and how it all worked, Joe content play with the bottle as he listened.

She walked forwards, Mulder turning at the sound of her steps to grin happily at her, pleased to see that she finally looked well rested.

"Morning, Scully! I thought you could use a lie in this morning."

"Good morning," she replied, running her fingers gently through his hair from behind as she kissed the crown of his head, enjoying having him around again. "And thank you, Mulder, I think I needed that."

Walking around to the other side, she sat down next to Mulder, gently kissing her son's head and running her hand gently through the tiny bit of mousy coloured hair he already had. Mulder waited for her to look in his direction, before leaning down and giving her a gentle kiss. It lasted only seconds, but Scully's heart already rose, her cheeks flushed slightly as she grinned back at him.

"So, what are you doing today?" he asked, watching as she moved away to the kitchen, needing a bit of distance between them right now. She cleared her throat, shouting over the sound of the kettle boiling.

"Erm, I thought it was about time I went shopping, so I was planning on going to the mall with Joe," she replied, pouring herself a quick cup of coffee.

"Can I come?" he asked, looking so hopeful that she had to smile, nodding as she drank.

"Of course. Let me just grab a quick shower and we can go," she replied, seeing him beam at her answer.

Mulder laughed as a cloth hit him in the face that Scully threw at him for when he was done feeding Joe. He was just about to come back with a witty retort when he saw that she had already disappeared into the shower.

"Your mother, Joe, she'll be the death of me," he told the child, seeing him gurgle happily. Laughing, he settled back on the sofa to enjoy a morning with his son.

* * *

They had a perfect day together, looking just like the happiest family on the planet. Mulder teased Scully at every opportunity, and she laughed, throwing witty comments back in his direction just as she had always done. Soon, they sat in a small cafe, both of them carrying bags, most of which were full of things for Joe. Mulder sighed happily, sipping at his coffee.

"You know, Mulder, I hate to inflate your ego further, but I really am so happy to have you back," she told him, seeing him grin at her.

"Me too, Scully. More than you could imagine."

Just as they seemed to get close again, Mulder's hand covering her smaller, delicate one over the table, his cell phone rang, making him jump. Scully laughed, trying to disguise it as a cough as Mulder frowned at her, reaching into his jacket.

"Mulder?" he spoke into the receiver, his heart and face dropping as he listened to the message. "OK, thank you for letting me know."

He looked down at the table as he put his phone away, not daring to look up and break this peace that had settled on them. He could almost feel Scully's eyes boring into his head, trying to get any hint of what the call was about.

"What's wrong?" she finally asked, waiting for him to look up, and when he did she saw the haunted expression that had slowly disappeared recently had re-surfaced.

"Diana's gone into labour."

Her heart almost stopped at that, finally nodding as she took in the information. She looked up and saw him watching her uncertainly, unsure of what he should do. He hated breaking the spell of the wonderful afternoon with his family, hoping this would no undo what they had been working for.

"You should go and meet your child, Mulder," she told him, the smallest smile on her now pale face as she looked back at him.

"Scully...Joe's my child, and I...I..." he stuttered, trying to get her to understand what he was feeling. But her walls were back up again, what he had hoped to never see.

"Go, Mulder. We'll still be here when you get back."

He stood uncertainly, looking back at Scully for some reassurance, but she was avoiding his eyes, looking instead at a sleeping Joe in his pram. As he reached the door, he hovered, not quite able to bring himself to walk through it. Looking up at him, she finally offered him a more Scully-like smile, knowing he had to go and hating the fact.

"Go!" she shouted to him, seeing him nod and hang his head, knowing that he had no choice.

She watched him walk away, her heart breaking all over again. This had been a bad idea to let him back so quickly, and yet she hurt so much when he wasn't around. Shaking the thoughts from her head, she decided to head back and have a relaxing bath, pushing all thoughts of Mulder from her head for the afternoon. She could worry about this situation at another time when she had more energy, and when she had more control of her feelings.

* * *

Mulder sat in Diana's room, trying not to let the feeling of dread fill him. He had seen that look on Scully's face before, and it always came just before she was going to shut him out and not show her feelings to him anymore. Sighing, he wished that was not the case, praying to God he hadn't just undone all of the progress they had made over the last few days.

Diana squeezing tightly on his hand brought his thoughts back to the present. He tried to keep the smile on his face and look interested in her birth, but in reality he wanted nothing more than to head home and spend his time with Scully. Eventually, he heard the unmistakable scream of a baby. Diana looked exhausted, and he offered her a small smile.

"Congratulations, parents, you have a beautiful baby girl," the nurse said with a beam on her face.

Mulder cut the cord, surprised that they would trust the father with what seemed like such an important job, and watched as they passed the little girl to Diana. She glanced down lovingly on her, Mulder never seeing this side of Diana before. When she looked up at him, he tried to put a smile on his face, knowing that the child was truly beautiful, but not feeling comfortable there.

"Do you want to hold her?" she asked, holding the little bundle to Mulder.

A true grin split his face as he held his daughter for the first time, amazed once more by the little life in his arms. Yet he couldn't shake the fact that he just didn't feel the same strength of connection with her as he had the first time he held Joe.

"What are you going to call her?" he asked Diana after a moment, trying to distract those kinds of thoughts from his mind.

"Beth," she replied, seeing Mulder smile down at the little girl.

"Hi, Beth!" he cooed, smiling when she wiggled her arms. Leaning down, he carefully settled her back in Diana's arms again, watching the adoring look come into her eyes again. "She's beautiful."

It took a while for Diana to fall asleep, but once she did Mulder took the opportunity to steal from the room after one last look at his daughter. If the nurses thought it was strange that he was leaving, they never said so. All that was on his mind, despite the happiness of meeting his daughter, was getting back home to Scully and Joe.

* * *

He grinned when he quietly closed the door behind him, seeing Scully fast asleep on the couch. Walking over to the now familiar crib, he tickled the stomach of his still barely awake son.

"Hey, Joe," he told him, his heart bursting with pride at the tiny boy once more. He was amazed that he could still feel so strongly about this tiny little baby, even after all this time. "What have you been doing to tire out your Mommy?"

Kneeling down in front of Scully, he felt a wave of sadness again. Her usually peaceful face was marred by a frown, and he could see quite clearly the red lines where she had been crying before she fell asleep. His heart broke, knowing that the woman he loved had been upset without him knowing, and he had a good idea that he was the cause.

Reaching out, he ran his hand gently through her hair, wanting to scoop her into his arms and never let go when he heard a pained whimper leave her lips. After a moment, she woke, jumping slightly as she saw Mulder crouching in front of her, smiling to see her waking.

"Hey, Scully," he murmured, reaching for her but finding his arms brushed aside as she got straight up, heading for the kitchen.

"Hi, Mulder. When'd you get back?"

He sighed, following her. "Not long ago. I was just waiting for you to wake up."

She nodded, keeping her back to him as she made two mugs of coffee, Mulder thankful that at least he was still welcome for a drink.

"How did you get on?"

She was surprised when his voice came from directly next to her, giving her no choice but to turn and look at him. He looked uncomfortable, obviously not enjoying this conversation.

"Diana had a little girl. They're both healthy and doing fine," he told her, gratefully accepting the coffee with a nod of thanks.

"That's good, Mulder, congratulations," she told him, turning away to put the milk in the fridge, her voice expressionless.

"Scully," he groaned, putting his coffee down and walking towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. His heart broke as she flinched, doing nothing to encourage the action like she had before. Reaching for her shoulders, he gently turned her around so that she was facing him, her eyes fixed on the floor. "What's on your mind?"

She shrugged, still not meeting his eyes. "Nothing, Mulder, I'm tired."

Lifting her chin gently, he looked down at her with questioning eyes, causing the tears to fall instantly. Pulling her towards him, he held her close as she buried her head in his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist and letting out all of the emotions that she was feeling. He said nothing until he felt her calm slightly, the tears slowing. Releasing her from his hold, he took her hand, leading her to the sofa and sitting down next to her, never releasing his hold on her hand.

"Talk to me, Scully. I can't help if I don't know."

She sighed, shuddering from all of the emotions. "I don't know, Mulder, I just...well things just felt so right, and now I don't know where I stand..."

She broke off, unable to talk anymore. Mulder's throat constricted painfully, understanding instantly what the problem was and hating that he was yet again the cause of this poor woman's pain.

"Scully, look at me," he told her gently, smiling softly at her as she met his eyes uncertainly. "I have absolutely no intentions of going anywhere, Scully, certainly not back with Diana. My only obligation is to spend some time with my daughter, but as far as I'm concerned, you and Joe are my family, and if you will have me, you're the only two people I want to spend my life with."

She smiled, the happiness returning for the first time, as she realised that she had not been wrong, and Mulder was definitely there to stay. A couple of tears slipped free, Scully wiping them instantly.

"I guess, I just thought that when you saw your daughter, the one that you'd known about all along and had input with all along, you might change your mind."

"Scully, I love you. I know this isn't the time to tell you that now that we're just getting on track, but I do. Which means I love Joe just as much, because he came from our relationship." He chuckled, seeing her look questioningly at him. "Actually, I felt less when I was holding Beth than when I was holding Joe somehow. Even when I didn't know that Joe was my son."

She looked surprised, finally letting the walls guarding her heart down again, to Mulder's happiness. He pulled her close for a moment, kissing her forehead softly before letting her go again.

"Scully, ever since Diana first dropped this bombshell on me, my first thought has been how much I wished it had been you saying it, and how happy that would have made me. This, right here, is all that I've ever wanted. And as long as you'll have me, I'm not going anywhere. I love you, both of you."

Scully sat in a moment of shock, unable to process everything that she was hearing. She knew Mulder had loved her at one time, but she hadn't realised that he had always loved her just as much, despite everything. Happiness threatened to explode within her as she realised that this life, the life with Mulder and Joe, was the only thing that she could imagine herself wanting.

Looking up, she saw that Mulder was watching her, somewhat nervously. This turned to surprise when she moved closer, her hands reaching for his neck as she pulled his lips down to hers. He groaned as she kissed him with everything that she was feeling, unable to put it into words but more than capable of showing him. He kissed her back just as passionately, wanting her to know that he felt just the same.

When they pulled away, they stared breathlessly at each other, before Scully's face broke into a happy grin. Standing from the couch, she reached for his hand, pulling him up with her. He looked at her quizzically, before letting her pull him along, his smile matching her own.

"Scully..." he started, before she turned and cut him off.

"Don't talk, Mulder, or think. I love you, and I want to show that to you."

Grinning, he leaned down and picked her up into his arms, enjoying the happy laugh she gave as he carried her into the bedroom.

* * *

Diana shuddered as he walked through her apartment, the smoke ringing him and appearing to follow him like some awful ghost. He looked emotionlessly down at the sleeping baby in her crib, Diana's skin crawling. Finally, he turned his attention back to her, a sinister smile on his face.

"You are a failure, Diana. Mulder and Scully are still together, even more closely bound now than before."

She shrugged, crossing her arms as she refused to let his eyes go. "I did what I could, what you instructed me to. They obviously just love each other more than that."

"This could be a problem," he replied, sucking on the cigarette in his fingers.

Diana sneered, seeing him look at her in surprise. "There is nothing that you could do to separate them, not while they both live. I'd have thought you'd have realised that by now."

He laughed. "We'll see about that."

Standing angrily from her chair, she rose to his own height. "Do you really think they are going to be much trouble to you now? They have a child who they are both devoted to!"

"Don't underestimate Mulder's stubbornness, nor Scully's will to follow him and keep him safe." He paused. "Besides, you are going to help me, and you are going to do it right this time. I can't abide failures."

She shook her head. "No, I'm not having any part in this! I'm sick of causing them pain for no gain! Besides, I have a child to take care of now."

"You misunderstand me, Diana. This is not a choice. You are going to help, and I am going to take collateral to ensure that the job gets done this time."

Clicking his fingers, Diana watched in horror as two huge men entered the room, both heading in her direction. She steeled herself for the blows that she was sure would fall, until she realised that she was actually being held. Looking back in CGB's direction, she watched, speechless as he took the sleeping child from her cot.

"No! No, you can't do this! That's my baby!" she shouted at him, Spender taking no notice as he walked away. "Please, don't do this!" she begged, seeing him turn as he reached the door.

"Sort out my problem, Diana, and I'll sort out yours," he shot back with a laugh, watching impassively as she slumped against the two men, all the fight leaving her.

Once they had gone, she sat with her head in her hands, desperate to find a way to solve this problem. Deciding on the best course of action, she set off towards the now familiar apartment, knowing exactly what she had to do.

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**Ooops yeah, that wasn't the nicest of places to leave it, and Diana's finally back! It'd be really great if you guys felt like leaving some feedback, I want to get it right! Thanks very much for reading, hope you're all still enjoying it :)**


	12. The Truth Is Revealed

**Hi everyone! I'm so sorry this has taken me so long, life was pretty hectic! Thanks so much for staying with me though, and for the reviews! Hope you enjoy the next bit :)**

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Mulder sighed with satisfaction as he stood waiting for the coffee to boil. He had had the best night with Scully that he could ever imagine, both of them craving the feel of each other after such a long and painful separation. And even better was that she didn't regret it in the morning, and was still just as loving towards him as the night before. He quickly made the coffee just the way she liked it as he waited for her to come back, having gone to get Joe ready for the day.

The knock on the door made him jump, having not expected anyone to be calling. Looking around, he saw no signs of Scully, so made his way to the door instead. Pulling it open, his heart constricted painfully as he looked onto the face of that one woman who seemed intent on ruining his life once more. His eyes took in her face, seeing a haunted look that he had never seen there before.

"Please, Fox, just listen to me. I only need a minute of your time. Please?" she begged, her face showing signs of strain.

He hovered uncertainly by the door until he heard footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw Scully standing behind him, Joe in her arms. Her face was a picture of hatred as she looked at Diana standing in the door, her eyes flitting from her to Mulder, betrayal written on her. She backed up, her face a mask to him as he was kept on the outside once more.

"Please, Fox, please hear me out. Agent Scully, please let me tell you what I have come here to say. It concerns you too."

Turning again, Mulder looked to Scully for some sign of what she wanted him to do. She gave the smallest of nods, letting him know that it was alright to let this woman that she despised into her apartment. Stepping in, Diana gratefully sank onto one end of Scully's couch, Mulder taking the other. He looked across at Scully, but she was refusing to look in his direction from her chair, Joe fast asleep in her arms.

Mulder sighed, running his hands over his face. "Where's Beth?" he finally asked quietly, seeing Diana take in a shuddering breath.

"I'll get to that," she promised. There was silence for a moment, as Diana fought to try and find something to say.

"What have you come here for, Diana?" Mulder asked, the hard edge in his voice making her start.

"I've done something incredibly stupid, Fox, and I've hurt you. I've hurt both of you. And for that I am incredibly sorry, you have to believe that. Because I've come here to beg for your help."

Scully snorted at that, still refusing to look at either of them, her eyes trained firmly on the ground in front of her. Mulder sighed, looking at Diana again. He had never seen her like this before.

"What do you mean? You're going to have to do a lot more explaining than that, Diana," he started, stopping suddenly when she held up her hand to him.

"I know. I just...I'm not sure where to start."

"From the beginning?" he suggested sarcastically, seeing her wince again at his lack of feeling for her.

"OK." She sighed, looking away from him as she started her tale. "That night when I came over to your apartment, I already had a plan that I was ready to perform. You let me in against your better judgement after I played on your good nature, claiming that I wanted to discuss conspiracy theories like we used to. I know that you missed that part of our friendship, so I was aware that you would let me in.

"You went to the toilet almost as soon as I'd got there, and it couldn't have been more perfect if I had planned it that way. While you were gone, I spiked your drink with a powerful drug that would cause you to black out and remember nothing from the few minutes before. As soon as you had passed out, I called the men I had waiting outside, who helped me to get you to your bed and strip you. Then it was just a matter of me lying next to you, waiting for you to wake up. We never slept together, Fox, even though I personally wished that we had. I have always been jealous of your relationship with Agent Scully."

She watched as Mulder stared at her, his mouth hanging open as he tried to process the information that she was telling him. He had no idea how to feel, his whole body just feeling numb.

"I'm sorry, Fox, I really am. Beth isn't your daughter, they used technology to impregnate me before I came to your apartment. Smoking man was looking for a way to separate you both, and I was it. But it didn't work, because you two love each other too much, and are too stubborn."

He was relieved, and angry at the same time. Walking around for a moment in the oppressive silence that suddenly cloaked the room, he ran his hands through his hair irritably before bringing his hands down with a bang onto the table in front of him.

"God damn it, Diana, what the hell were you thinking? How could you do this? The things I missed...Joe, I missed having a part of his and Scully's lives and you..."

He broke off, unable to talk anymore. Turning around, he suddenly realised that his shouting had upset Joe, almost as if everything were so surreal he hadn't heard it before. His heart broke when he saw Scully with tears rolling down her cheeks, desperately trying to quieten him.

"Oh, Scully, I'm sorry," he said, walking over to her and taking Joe gently from her arms. He rocked him gently in his arms, whispering quietly to him as the little baby finally fell quiet, Mulder's anger dissolving the instant he saw his face. Looking up, he saw Scully sitting with her head in her hands before he turned his anger on Diana again.

"Why? Why tell me all of this now?"

Diana stayed quiet for a moment, watching and knowing that she had done the right thing. Mulder crouched down in front of Scully, taking her hands gently from her face with his free hand so that he could see her eyes, trying to see what she was thinking. Scully sighed, still letting the tears flow as she looked at the poor man in front of her, who had suffered for such a long time for having done nothing but be too kind and honest. It killed her that she had made him suffer, made both of them suffer, for no reason, and yet he was still there, sitting in front of her, making sure she was alright.

"Why, Diana?" he asked, standing again and rocking Joe in his arms now that he knew Scully was as alright as it was possible for her to be.

She closed her mouth, the silent connection that he had with Scully overwhelming enough, without seeing the love he already had for his son.

"Cancer man visited me last night to make sure I finished the job properly. He..." she broke off, trying to swallow her own tears. "He took Beth to make sure I did it correctly. I was going to do what he asked, I needed to so that I could see my daughter again, but then I realised that I had been so wrong from the start, and I know I'll never be safe, because it is not possible to separate to people so obviously in love. So me and Beth would never be safe, he'd always be asking for more. And I couldn't hurt you anymore, Fox. I did love you at one point."

She smiled softly at him, seeing his face lose some of it's hard expression. "I just want a life with my daughter. So I came to ask for your help, even if I don't deserve it, because that's the only way to end this. And I wanted to give you the peace you both deserve in knowing the truth."

Scully looked up as she stopped speaking, her eyes going straight to Mulder's face as she tried to see what he was thinking. He was lost in thought, his face unreadable as he considered what he had been told and how he was feeling. Eventually, he looked down at the tiny child in his arms and imagined what it would be like to have him taken away. Sighing, he looked across at Scully, begging her to understand with his eyes before turning back to Diana.

"I'll help you," he told her, seeing her let a couple of tears slide as she heard the answer she hadn't dared to hope that she would get.

"Mulder..." Scully started, standing to put an arm warningly on his arm. He smiled so tenderly down at her, kissing her cheek gently.

"I have to do this, Scully. She didn't have to tell us the truth and give us that closure, and that fresh start together. And besides, I don't even want to imagine how I would feel if Joe were taken away. At the end of the day, she has just been a pawn in cancer man's game, just like we could have been."

Looking down for a moment, Scully thought about what he had said, and how much he meant to her. Nodding slowly, she looked back up at him, worried but stubborn.

"If you feel that you should do this, Mulder, then you have to. But if you're going, then I'm going with you."

"Scully, you can't, it's too dangerous," he said, starting forwards instantly at her words, worry written all over his face.

"If it's too dangerous for me, then it's too dangerous for you too. I can't lose you, Mulder, not when I've just been given a way to have the life I've always wanted. And besides, we're a team. I watch your back and you watch mine. That hasn't changed."

"But we have Joe to think about now. Someone has to take care of him." He stroked her hair gently, seeing her stubborn expression stay firmly in place.

"We'll both be taking care of Joe when we get back."

"But what if something happens? What would we do then?"

She sighed, running her hand over his cheek gently. "Mulder, I have no intentions of letting you walk into that kind of danger alone, especially when we only have Diana's word that this is not some kind of strange, elaborate trap. She's lied to us before, there's no reason to think she isn't lying now. Either we both go, or neither of us do."

He sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to win this argument once Scully had made up her mind. Leaning his forehead against hers for a moment, he took in the feeling of being surrounded by his family. He leant to kiss her lips gently, before standing up again.

"Alright, we'll both go," he told her, seeing her smile at him, her expression radiant as she took in her man standing with her child. Despite the dangers now facing them, she somehow knew that it was all going to turn out alright.

Spinning around, he saw that Diana was already standing, knowing that her welcome was wearing thin. She stepped forwards towards them before thinking better of it from Mulder's cold expression.

"OK, Diana, we'll get the Gunmen onto tracing where your daughter is. I'll contact you when I know more."

She nodded. "Thank you, thank you so much. Both of you. Thank you. And I'm so sorry for everything that I've done to hurt you. I just...I really wish I could take it all back."

He nodded, watching expressionless as she turned and walked out of the door, closing it gently behind her. She stopped in the corridor, taking a deep breath as she realised for the first time in the last few hours that everything was going to be alright, now that she had Mulder and Scully on her side.

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Scully took Joe from Mulder the moment the door had closed, placing the sleeping child gently in his crib. Mulder watched her in surprise, just about to ask her what was going on when she whipped around, running across the room and throwing herself onto him. He only just caught her in time, laughing softly as he had never seen her so affectionate before.

"Scully, what's wrong?" he asked as he became aware of her sobs, his neck and shoulder wet from where her tears were running, her lips kissing every part of him that they could reach.

Walking carefully forwards, he scooped Scully easily into his arms, sitting them on the sofa so that she was in his lap. Wrapping his arms firmly around her, he cradled her while she cried, shushing her softly until she was ready to speak. Once her sobs had quietened, he gently eased her forwards, taking her face gently in his hands so that she was forced to look him in the eye, no secrets as his gentle hazel eyes searched for answers.

"What is it, Scully?" he asked gently, watching as she bit her lip against the emotions again.

"I just...I can't believe I made you suffer, made both of us suffer, for such a long time when you didn't do anything wrong. I just feel like such a horrible person, Mulder, and I'm so sorry for putting you through this."

He laughed gently, seeing her look hopefully into his eyes, even as his face softened as he looked at the beautiful woman in front of him that he loved.

"Scully, Dana, you haven't done anything wrong! Even I believed Diana, so if I believed her, what chance did you have? All that matters is that we're together now, we fought through it together even when we did believe it, and we have a clean slate to get back to where we were before."

Smiling, for the first time since that morning with happiness, she leant forwards and buried her head on his chest, sighing as she felt his arms come to rest around her shoulders.

"I love you, Mulder, so much more than you could ever know. I always have, despite everything that we thought had happened, I couldn't stop loving you."

Mulder was speechless for a moment, loving hearing those words again after such a long time. Leaning down, he captured her lips in his own, kissing her passionately, needing to show her how much she meant to him. Eventually, they broke apart, and he laid his forehead against hers gently, needing to be near her.

"I love you too, Scully. Always have, always will." He paused for a moment. "I can't wait for our family to start properly again now."

Scully nodded, feeling exactly the same. And yet at the same time it was tinged with a little bit of sadness and worry as she prayed to God that nothing would happen to change this over the next few days, when the future seemed so uncertain. Yet for now, she was just content to lay in Mulder's arms, her heart feeling full and healthy knowing that she was lying in the arms of a man who loved her just as much as she loved him.

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**Yay so cleared up part of it! More action next time ;) Anyway please let me know what you think and if you're still reading, hopefully I can get the next part out in the next few days if you're all interested? Thanks so much for reading!**


	13. Into The Lion's Den

**Hi everyone! Sorry for taking so long for the upload, I dont have the internet at the moment :( Here's the next bit though, hope you're all still enjoying it! Thanks especially to AnnieGilly - you're the best, and sorry for being away for so long!**

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It only took a couple of days for the Gunmen to find where smoking man had hidden Beth. Not that Mulder expected anything less from them, he just hoped he would have a bit longer before he had to risk his happiness. Sitting on the back of their van, his heart dropped as he saw Scully's car driving towards them from dropping Joe off at her mothers. Somehow, despite knowing how stubborn she could be, he had still hoped that she would change her mind and not come back. Looking back, even the Gunmen looked uneasy to let her come along on their escapade.

Pulling her car into a free space, Scully headed straight to where Mulder was sitting, the same determination on her face as she smiled gently at him.

"Is there anything I can say to make you change your mind and make you go home?" he asked desperately, knowing that she had already answered when she ran her fingers through his hair, kissing his forehead lovingly.

"Mulder, one of my guys is safe at home with my mother. Now it's my job to make sure the other one comes home in one piece."

He smiled back, leaning forwards to kiss her gently before giving her a hand to climb into the van. The door had hardly closed when they pulled out, the van squealing onto the highway.

"Jesus, Frohike, what are you trying to do leave skid marks on the road?" Mulder quipped, seeing the shorted man turn and glare at him from the front.

They lapsed into silence for a time, each thinking about their own worries and thoughts. Scully chanced a few glances at Mulder, trying to understand what he was thinking about everything, and what he must be going through. Finally wanting to make him feel better as well as needing contact herself, she reached for his hand, cradling it in her own as he looked up with a surprised smile.

Diana cleared her throat moments later. "I just want to say that I really do appreciate your help, I really do. There's not many people that would want to help after what I told you, and just thank you. Thank you so so much."

Scully gave her a small smile and nodded in her direction, Mulder seeing that she was trying her best to make his life easy and loving her even more for it.

"It's OK, Diana, let's just get this done and then that's the end of it, OK?" Mulder replied, smiling back at her. He had never seen Diana looking so nervous before which was doing nothing for his own worries.

Leaning his head back against the cold metal wall, he closed his eyes, losing himself in the darkness, still joined by the hand to his partner.

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Mulder sighed, trying to ignore the sweat that was running down his back. Looking behind him again, he saw that Diana was still moving along behind him, Scully's red hair visible where she was watching their backs. The building looked like a massive disused office building, with old grey corridors and rooms leading everywhere. Tapping his microphone, he heard the hiss of annoyance from the other end.

"Come on, Byers, where the hell are we supposed to be going?" he asked, coming to the end of the corridor, and now knowing which way to turn.

"Left," Byers replied, checking the blueprints that he had managed to pull up on the computer, Mulder coming as a little red blip moving along the blue corridors. "And the room should be the fourth door on your right."

Waving Diana in behind him, he kicked the door open, letting Diana in first from behind him where she could see. Scully watched the corridor carefully, looking for any signs that somebody had heard the commotion.

"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, starting forwards and instantly taking the sleeping baby from her crib. Mulder smiled grimly, seeing an elderly woman put her hands up to ward him off.

"Sit down!" he shouted at her, seeing her cower from his anger and take her seat on the wooden chair once more.

"I'm sorry, please no hurt me! I no understand," the lady begged, obviously speaking little English. Mulder's face softened as he wondered if she had been caught up in cancer man's game as well.

"It's OK," he told her, smiling gently as she looked up at him.

Pulling some tape from his pocket, he carefully bound her hands and feet to the chair, making sure that she it was tight enough that she wouldn't be able to escape, but not tight enough to hurt her. She nodded an understanding, with a small smile as he stepped back.

"Promise me you won't shout?" he asked her, holding a gag loosely in his hand. Her eyes followed and she smiled reassuringly.

"I no call. Promise."

Nodding, he tapped her shoulder as he started for the door. "I'm sorry," he told her, standing aside to let Diana out in front of him, her eyes glued to the little face in her arms that she had worried she would never see again.

"Are you with me, Diana?" he asked, getting no response as she let the tears fall looking at her daughter again. "Diana?"

"Mulder, we need to get out of here," Scully told him under her breath warningly.

"Diana!" he groaned, shaking her shoulders as she finally looked at him. "We need to go."

She nodded, paying attention to the task in hand again. Mulder sighed, following Scully down the corridors as the Gunmen seemed to have switched to telling Scully the directions, Mulder resuming her place at the back. So far, so good. Now they just had to pray that the last part was as easy as the first.

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They had almost reached the exit, finding themselves in the last, huge room that looked more like a warehouse than any other part of the building. There were boxes piled everywhere like massive columns, dark shadows running out from behind them, which were making Scully incredibly nervous. The light from the door could still be seen as a faint glow, giving her some hope that they would still make it out alright.

Hearing a noise behind her, she turned quickly to see a man aiming straight at Mulder. Shouting a warning, time seemed to move in slow motion as she reached behind her to push Mulder out of the way, pointing her own gun and firing quickly. It took her a while to realise that she had been knocked off balance, but she finally realised that the man had shot just after her, knocking her already precarious balance from pushing Mulder off. Falling heavily, she hit her head on a box at the side, sliding into blissful blackness.

"Scully!" Mulder shouted, shocked as he watched her fall to the side, her head hitting the box with a sickening thud. Rushing over, he dropped to her side instantly, turning her gently. "Come on, Dana, don't do this to me," he told her, cursing the fact that he had nearly gotten them all out in one piece.

She was definitely out cold, a slow red stain starting to show on her side. Pressing his hands firmly against it, Mulder tried to shake the thought that yet again he had got Scully hurt, and this time she had literally saved his life.

"Please, Scully, wake up. I can't do this without you. I'm so sorry," he murmured, leaning down to kiss her forehead which was worryingly pale.

A chuckle broke the awkward silence in the room, Mulder looked up in surprise to see cancer man standing between them and the doorway. Fortunately, his laughter was directed at Diana, not Mulder, and she stood taller, meeting his eyes steadily.

"Oh, my dear Diana! I always had a win-win situation! I knew that you would either lead Mulder and Scully to me willingly or accidentally. I must admit though, it was an unexpected surprise when you did it accidentally. I thought you'd lost your soul a long time ago."

Diana's face fell, realising what she had done. "I...I didn't know," she muttered, turning briefly to look at Mulder. "I'm so sorry, Fox, I swear I didn't know."

Mulder's face was a picture of anger as he stood from Scully's side, but as Diana searched his face she saw that it wasn't directed at her. Moving forwards, he stood by her side.

"You evil bastard! I'll kill you yet, you son of a bitch!" he shouted, swinging his hand around towards cancer man, and stopping when he saw that he had a gun trained on him.

He looked straight into cancer man's eyes over the gun, losing none of his anger or frustration as he calmly stood there. There was no fear, for some reason, Mulder accepting his fate and determined to stand proud. Not noticing the movement beside him, he didn't realise that Diana had stepped away to put her baby gently onto the floor.

"Fox!" she shouted a moment later as she saw a sniper aiming at him.

Time again seemed to slow as Mulder heard two shots ring out, his eyes closing as he expected one of them to have hit him. When he opened them again, he saw that the sniper was nowhere to be seen, killed by a well placed bullet from Diana. But Diana was also no longer standing by his side, instead having fallen into a crumpled heap on the floor. Cancer man's gun was still smoking faintly where he had shot, changing his target from Mulder to Diana when he saw her prepare to shoot.

"God damn it!" Mulder yelled, pulling at his hair in frustration. It wasn't supposed to be like this. They were all supposed to make it out alive, not just Mulder.

Smoking man took a sinister drag on his cigarette, for once stamping it out as he smiled languidly at Mulder. Mulder just looked back, all the sadness and hurt showing on his face as he didn't care if he killed him. He had nothing left to live for now anyway.

"This is the end, Agent Mulder. You've been a worthy adversary, but you have to know that this was the only way it could ever end."

Mulder nodded, looking down at his hands. "I'll see you in hell," he muttered, making no effort to raise his own gun, his mind too distracted on what he had lost.

The shot rang out clearly, Mulder expecting to feel the usual pain that came with being shot, but felt nothing. Looking up, he saw that Cancer man was looking down with surprise, his hand coming up to cup the blood running from his chest as he looked up at Mulder in confusion. Mulder watched impassively before turning to see that Scully had woken up, pulling herself into a sitting position against the box with her gun cradled on her lap. His heart leapt in his chest. She was still alive. She leant her head painfully back against the box, sweat pouring down her face as Mulder rushed to her side.

"Scully," he murmured as he took her hand gently in his, seeing her eyes flick open at the sound of his voice. He tried to ignore the blood running down her face as he looked into her soft, loving eyes.

"I'm fine, Mulder. Go and see Diana," she told him.

Mulder looked uncertain, seeing that the was some blood leaking out from where Scully's hand held her wound, and that it was starting to spread underneath her. He had to get her out of here soon. But she pushed him gently towards Diana, knowing that he needed this closure. Watching as he knelt uncertainly by her form, a small frown crossed her face as she worried about him. He had a gun, he could have fought back and yet he gave up and did nothing. Sighing, she closed her eyes once more, not having the energy to figure out that problem just yet.

Mulder scooped Diana into his arms, seeing her eyes flick open at the contact. She smiled slightly at him, a pained expression crossing her face a moment later. They both knew that she was dying, the blood that had surrounded her far too much for her to be able to survive.

"Fox," she murmured, coughing slightly as her hand reached to clasp the front of his shirt. "Take care of her. Please, promise me she'll have the best life you can give her."

Looking over at the screaming bundle on the ground, he nodded, meeting Diana's eyes again as he smiled gently down at her.

"Don't worry about that, Diana. Beth will have a good life, I promise you that. You don't need to worry."

"I know," she replied as she nodded, sucking in a breath painfully. "I didn't know, Fox, I swear I didn't. I'm so sorry, I'm really, really sorry."

"Shh," he replied, smoothing some hair from her face. "I know you didn't. It's alright, you didn't do anything wrong here." He paused for a moment. "You saved my life. Why?"

She smiled. "Because you deserve a good life, Fox. I couldn't see that before but you do. You haven't done anything...wrong. I've done plenty of things I wish I could take back."

She coughed painfully, Mulder holding her tighter as she did so. "Thank you," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her forehead gently.

She smiled. "I'm glad, in the end, I could do something to take back the wrong I did. Now you have to make sure you have the best life with Scully. You're a good man, Fox, you deserve to have her and be happy together."

He nodded, choked on the tears that were threatening to fall. She may have made his life hell for the last few months, but she had given him a real chance at happiness, and he wasn't sure that was something he could ever repay. He just wished it hadn't worked out this way.

"I'm so sorry, Agent Scully!" Diana shouted across the warehouse, needing her forgiveness too. She coughed painfully as Mulder tried to still her.

"It's alright, Diana. You've more than made up for any mistake you made here today. Thank you. For keeping him alive for me."

Mulder heard the distinct wobble in Scully's voice that he knew so well, his head shooting around to make sure she was alright. She nodded to him, tears rolling down her face as she sighed, coughing slightly herself.

"I'm sorry," Diana whispered as Mulder looked back down at her, letting her last breath go as she died in his arms.

Mulder let the tears that he had been holding back fall as he held her closer for a moment, kissing her forehead gently again. Laying her carefully down, her stepped over her to pick up the screaming bundle of blankets, trying to calm the distraught baby. Scully watched him closely through heavy lidded eyes, trying to reassure herself that he was alright, even as she fought to hold onto consciousness. She was in a worse state than she wanted Mulder to know, but he needed the closure she had just given him.

Just as Mulder turned to head back to Scully, the door banged open, and a team of at least twelve men, all dressed in black with helmets covering their faces, and guns raised at Mulder burst through. His heart stopped as he saw them, staring in horror ahead of himself. After everything, there was nothing to do, no way he could protect Scully. There were too many. After all of this, all of the sacrifice, it was over.

Standing numbly, he just watched the guns trained on him, wishing it had been different. Not able to bring himself to look at Scully, he waited for his fate to finally be decided.

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**Oops cliffy! Sorry but that was kinda necessary lol! I promise to try and update soon. Sorry for messing with the characters as well, but I kinda wanted Diana to turn out to be alright in the end, and Cancer Man really needed to meet a nice ending! Please let me know what you think though, and thanks so much for reading :D**


	14. Rescue and Recovery

**Hi everyone, thanks so much for the reviews, I really appreciate it! I know this one is a little short but I wanted to get a chapter out to you all. Hopefully get the internet back by Wednesday!**

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Relief flooded through him when one of the men at leading the troop stepped forwards and removed his helmet, revealing the concerned face of Skinner. He stepped straight to a still frozen Mulder, taking his shoulders in his hands.

"That was a very stupid thing you did, Agent Mulder, coming here without back up. It's a good job your friends outside thought to call me. What the hell happened here?"

Mulder blinked as Skinner's words finally began to sink in. "Sir...I, um, I..."

Skinner sighed, patting him on the back, easily recognising the signs of shock. "Take it easy, Mulder," he told him, waving two men over to look after Mulder.

As he stepped past Mulder, Skinner noticed a familiar form lying on the floor, his pace increasing as he came to a halt by Scully's side. She smiled slightly at him, seeing his concern.

"Oh my God, Scully, are you alright?" he asked, seeing the red pool beneath her and her hands firmly clasped to her side.

"I'm OK, sir, it's not as bad as it looks," she told him, noting Skinner's disbelieving look as he took in her pale and sweaty face. "How's Mulder?"

He sighed. "I think he's gone into shock, Scully. We need to get you both out of here. That was incredibly stupid, you know you only had to ask for back up and I'd have given it to you."

She nodded. "I know. It was a very personal moment, for both Mulder and myself sir, and well...we should have handled it better, but that doesn't matter now."

He nodded. "What the hell happened here?"

Scully gulped, still trying to cling onto consciousness and ignore the pain that was ripping through her. "It's a long story, sir, but...Diana, she...she saved Mulder's life," she finally managed to croak out.

Skinner nodded, his hand going to Scully's face as he saw how she was desperately just hanging onto consciousness. Hitting her face softly, he saw her eyes roll back into focus on his face. He smiled grimly, knowing that he had to get them out of there right now.

"Hold on, Scully, we're gonna get you out of here," he told her, reaching down to wrap his arms around her and lift her from the ground.

The cry of pain that left her ripped through Mulder's heart, and his heard tore around, needing to know that she was alright. Skinner soon caught up with him, Scully's arm hanging limply from his arms. Reaching out, Mulder grasped her hand, willing her to be alright. Scully looked up at the contact, managing a small smile before unconsciousness took her completely.

"Hold on, Scully, it's going to be alright," Mulder pleaded as he walked along beside his superior, the fast pace soon causing him to fall back to the safety of the other agents.

* * *

Scully blinked sleepily as she opened her eyes, the white of the room hitting her instantly, along with a familiar beeping in the background. Running her hand over her face briefly, she realised that she thankfully felt much better than she had before.

Turning her head to one side, her heart stopped when she saw that Mulder was sitting on the chair a few feet from her, looking down at the sleeping child in his arms. He was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn't realised that Scully had woken. Sadly, she noticed the haunted look at returned to his face, his brow creased in a frown and his eyes sad as he obviously thought over the events that had happened to them.

He looked up then, the pain so clear in his eyes that Scully's heart almost broke. Seeing those wonderful blue eyes looking back at him, Mulder's face split into a huge grin which Scully returned happily, pleased to see the pain disappear, even if only for a few moments.

"Hey," he said softly, seeing Scully stifle a yawn.

"Hey," she replied, smiling at him as she watched him put Joe carefully into his car seat.

Crossing the room quickly, he gently folded her into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder as he sighed happily. He kissed the top of her head, smoothing some hair from her face.

"God, Scully, I was so worried. I've never seen you look so pale before."

She nodded. "I know. I lost a lot of blood. Even I was unsure if I was going to make it for a moment there." She paused, moving so that she could look up into his face. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days," he replied quietly, rubbing a hand over his face that showed the strain he had been through over those two days before he wiped the look, smiling at her again. "But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that we have you back."

"Have you even been home since we got here?" she asked, raising her eyebrow when he went to answer and chuckling when he sighed and shook his head. "Mulder! You have to look after yourself. I hate seeing you looking so worn out."

He pulled her closer, his arms being careful to avoid the many tubes and wires that seemed to be coming from everywhere, making his heart break from knowing that this was his fault, yet again. Holding her tightly, he leant down and kissed every part of her face that he could find, enjoyed hearing her laughing at his actions as she hugged him back, tears running down her face from laughing so hard when he finally released his hold slightly.

"Mulder! What was that all about?" she asked, her eyes radiating love for him which almost made him blush from the intensity.

"I'm just so glad to have you back, Scully. I thought this time...I thought this time I'd really lost you."

Smiling tenderly, she reached up to caress his cheek gently. "I'm not going anywhere," she assured him, seeing him nod and smile slightly back. "Besides, I couldn't exactly leave you, Mulder. You can't use the washing machine, let along change a diaper!"

Looking up in surprise, he let out a bark of laughter, settling her into his arms again. "You'd be surprised what I can do, Scully." He sighed, enjoying the quiet and having Scully back close to him again. "One of these days, I'm going to get it right. And make you and Joe proud of me."

Getting no answer, Mulder glanced down to see that Scully was sound asleep in his arms again, her tiny hands clinging onto his shirt as if she never wanted to let him go. Grinning, he leant his head back against the headboard, the strain of the last few days finally hitting him as he fell into the best sleep he'd had in a long time.

* * *

**I was gonna leave it on a cliff-hanger then, but thought it might be a bit cruel so I hope the ending is OK! The next bit will be the last chapter lol! Please let me know what you think, that'd be amazing! And thanks so much for reading :)**


	15. The End Of The Trouble

**Sorry for the delay people! This is the last part, thanks so much to all of you for reading! And I hope this ending is OK :D**

* * *

When Scully woke again, Mulder was sitting by her side stroking her hair gently. She smiled lazily up at him, enjoying the attention.

"Where's Joe?" she asked after a moment, seeing Mulder shush her reassuringly.

"He's outside with Skinner. He said he'd watch him so we could have some time together."

She nodded, pulling herself painfully to sit up slightly more so that she was almost at an eye level with Mulder. He shifted the pillows for her, making sure she was comfortable before settling himself back beside her again, her hand held gently in his own.

"Are you OK?" she asked gently, watching him with a small frown as the sad look appeared on his face again.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he asked with a laugh, looking down in amazement at the woman who still put his needs before her own, despite everything. Everything he'd done to her, including landing her in hospital again.

"This isn't your fault, Mulder," she murmured gently, seeing his head shoot up at her words and knowing she had hit the nail on the head. "There's nothing I could blame you for here."

"Scully..." he said, only to be cut off by her placing her fingers on his lips softly.

"You didn't shoot me, Mulder. You didn't even want me to come along. And you were there for me all along. Plus it should be me apologising seeing as you did nothing wrong with Diana either. I want you to stop these thoughts that you've done something to be sorry about, because you haven't and I hate to see you like this."

He nodded, tears threatening to fall from her words. "I just feel...so guilty that you've ended up here again instead of me. I'm sorry, Scully, so sorry I couldn't protect you again."

"You had enough going on, Mulder, it's understandable that you couldn't be in seven places at once! Besides, I'm a big girl. I decided to come, I failed to watch my own back and now I'll manage to get better in record time to come home with you and Joe."

"You were watching your back, you got shot because you were trying to watch mine at the same time!"

She smiled softly, taking his hand and giving it a squeeze. "I thought that's what partners were for. You're not telling me that you wouldn't have done exactly the same thing in my position."

The silence that stretched before them for a few minutes was beautiful, both of them lost in a world where just each other mattered. After a while, Scully heard Mulder sigh, and looking up saw that the sadness had returned. Closing her eyes, she reached her hand up to him, touching his cheek gently as he leaned into her touch, needing the comfort that only she could give him.

"It must have been hard on you, Mulder. What you saw, and how you were tricked...I can't imagine how you could cope with that."

He nodded. "Everything just feels so surreal right now. I just can't believe everything, like you're looking at your life on a screen rather than living it yourself." He broke off, before he smiled gently again at her. "But I have you and Joe now, and with this behind us we can get back to where we were before."

She smiled, the beam lighting up her whole face and leaving him no option but to smile alongside her. "You always have us, Mulder, and I must say I'm looking forward to making up for lost time." Rubbing his cheek gently, she waited until his eyes had locked firmly onto hers before carrying on. "We'll get through this. It'll get easier with time, I promise you."

The silence that came back was different, this time feeling sad and oppressive. Waiting and giving him time, Scully watched his face carefully, trying to understand what he was thinking and feeling so that she could help. But he was unknowingly putting such a wall around himself that she was finding it harder and harder to understand, and to find a way to reach him.

"Diana turned out to be a good person, in the end," she pointed out after a moment, seeing tears in his eyes as he looked up at her and thanking God that she had managed to pick the right thought again.

He nodded sadly, never breaking the contact between their eyes. "I'm glad it turned out that way."

"Mulder," she whispered, her hand moving to cup his face gently. "Diana wouldn't have done what she did if she didn't want to. There's nothing for you to feel guilty about."

"I can't help but feel guilty, Scully. She gave her life for me!"

Sighing, Scully bowed her head for a moment before looking directly into his eyes, refusing to let him break the contact. Holding his free hand tightly in hers, she searched his face for a moment.

"She knew, Mulder. She knew what we have only been afraid to contemplate. That she would never be free of Cancer Man until he was dead. That by doing what she did, she was giving her daughter the best chance of a happy and easy life. She saw the good in you, Mulder, despite everything she did. And she knew that you would do everything in your power to make sure that little girl was alright. That's why she did what she did, it was a mother's instinct. She did the right thing, no matter how horrible that thought is, and you have nothing to reproach yourself for."

He nodded, wiping the tears that had left his eyes roughly away. "Thank you, Scully. I...I really needed to hear that right now."

Smiling and letting her own tears fall unchecked, Scully sniffed and took over wiping his face, removing the tears gently as he closed his eyes against the pain. Eventually, he looked up to see her still watching him with concern, waiting patiently until he was ready to talk. Sighing, he pulled her to him, letting her nestle her head on his shoulder.

"What are you going to do?" she asked softly after a moment, feeling him sigh against her.

"I don't know, Dana, I really don't," he admitted wearily, the use of her first name making her heart pound as it always did.

"I had an idea about that," she told him, shifting slightly uncomfortably.

"What do you mean?" he asked, moving her so that he could see her face as she flushed slightly under the intensity of his stare.

"Well it's your choice with what you do, Mulder, but I thought...well...I just thought that if it's what you want, that maybe...well maybe it might be nice for Joe to have a little sister."

He looked shocked, his eyes filling with tears again as he swallowed painfully. "Scully...Dana...you'd be willing to do that? For me? Do you really mean it?"

She nodded, smiling softly at him. "I know you won't be happy unless you know you've kept your promise, Mulder, and I want you to be happy. Besides, I've always wanted a little girl as well."

Hugging her tightly, Mulder pressed his lips to hers suddenly, trying to show her how much she meant to him; how perfect she was. He blushed slightly as she winced when he hit a sore spot, Mulder apologising with a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"You need to get better soon, Scully, so I can spoil you rotten," he told her, looking happier than he had since the fateful day, the love radiating from his face so complete that Scully felt her heart skip a beat.

"I'll be as right as rain in no time, Mulder. And we'll get through this. Somehow, I know everything's going to be alright."

He smiled happily, settling back down on the bed next to her with Scully held firmly in his arms, letting her get the rest that she so needed to heal against his loving shoulder.

* * *

EPILOGUE

The house was beautiful, with a white picket fence around the small garden. It was the true dream house that everybody wanted, on a street lined with trees that kept it cool in the summer and pretty in the winter. The sound of two children laughing could be heard up and down the street, as a tall, dark haired man threw a basketball easily into the hoop, bouncing it towards a small, dark haired boy to take a shot.

"That's not fair, Daddy, I can't reach properly!" complained a dark, curly haired girl from next to him, her arms crossed in a sulk as she watched the little boy bouncing the ball.

"Well, I think we can solve that Little Miss!" he replied, dashing towards her and smiling as he heard her squeal in delight to be lifted onto his shoulders, holding onto the top of his head with a happy laugh. "Now we just need to get the ball back!"

The little boy looked around at this, giggling as he tried to carry on bouncing the ball and get away from his father at the same time. Giving up, he grabbed the ball into his small arms and started running across the garden.

"Daddy! No! Daddy, you can't catch me!" he laughed, almost falling over from laughing and running at the same time.

The man soon caught him, taking the ball away and kneeling down with him pinned beneath his legs. The little girl slipped easily from his shoulders, helping to tickle her brother with a laugh.

"Say Uncle, Joe, say Uncle!" the man laughed, watching as his son laughed beneath him, trying to bat off both of their hands at once.

"Mom! Mom!" he shouted between laughs, hoping that the only person likely to be on his side would appear at some point.

Scully watched from the back door, a huge smile lighting up her face. She looked carefree these days, a smile never far away, especially when watching her family. Stepping forwards she cleared her throat so that Mulder looked around and saw her. Her smile was mirrored on his face as he saw her, standing radiantly in the doorway with the sun just setting, casting a perfect light over her beautiful features. He swore that he fell more in love with her every day.

"Come on, guys, dinner's ready!" she called, seeing Mulder release Joe with a ruffle of his hair.

"Race you, Beth!" he called happily, watching as the little girl struggled to catch him.

"That's not fair! You had a head start!" she called as they raced towards the door.

"Careful, you two. No running in the house!" Scully called after them, her train of thought disappearing as two strong arms appeared around her waist from behind her. She groaned as a pair of lips attached themselves to the side of her neck, kissing her gently.

Spinning her around easily, Mulder kissed her passionately, his hands running easily up and down her back as she held his neck, teasing the bit of hair at the bottom of his neck. They were both breathless when they pulled apart, Mulder resting his forehead against hers gently and sighing in pure bliss.

Scully raised her eyebrow, moving away with a grin. "You'd better save some of that energy for tonight, Mulder," she teased, walking towards the door as Mulder caught her easily, wrapping his arm around her waist and walking in with her.

"You truly are my one in a billion, Scully. I swear I love you more every day."

She hit his shoulder playfully. "You know, if you really mean that, you'll have no complaint in finishing that X-file report for me tonight from that last case," she laughed, pausing in the entrance.

Kissing her cheek gently, Mulder nodded. "I'll do it while you put the kids to bed," he told her, seeing her incredulous look. "I promise!"

"Like I've not heard that before," she replied with a smile, kicking the front door closed behind her easily.

"Scully, you wound me," he replied, pausing for her to catch up.

"Come on, Mommy, get Daddy to come and eat with us!" came a little voice by her side, and Scully looked down adoringly into the huge brown eyes of her little girl.

"Do you hear that, Daddy, someone is hungry," she told Mulder, grabbing both of their hands and leading them into the kitchen to join her little boy, a huge smile of pure happiness on her face as she realised, for the millionth time, how lucky she was to have her family.

* * *

**Well that's it! I hope you enjoyed it, and that it's been alright to read and everything :S It's been a pleasure to post it, and thank you soooo so much for the reviews and for reading, it really means a lot :D**

**Becky  
**


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